GIFT  OF 


TWO  MEN  OF  TAUNTON 


ROBERT    TREAT   PAINE 
Memorial  Statue,  Taunton 


Two  MEN 

of  TA  u  NT  ON 

In  the  Course  of  Human  Events 
1731  —  1829 

By   RALPH   DAVOL 


DAVOL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Taunton,  Massachusetts 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,    1912,   BY   RALPH   DAVOL 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


WHEN  IN  THE  COURSE  OF  HUMAN  EVENTS 
it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve 
the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them 
with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers 
of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to 
which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  en 
title  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of 
mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the 
causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation.  — 
Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4,  1776. 


301440 


GREETING 


The  simple  Truth  is  all  we  ask, 

Not  the  Ideal. 
We  set  ourselves  the  noble  task 

To  find  the  Real. 


THE  Historical  Society  serves  as  a  sort  of 
tap-root  of  expanding  civilization.  The 
more  zealous  and  active  members  are 
continually  penetrating  the  mouldered  Past,  try 
ing  to  feed  the  budding  leaves  of  the  Future. 

"  The  fallen  leaves  nourish  the  tree  that  it  shall 
be  clothed  anew." 

Somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  apple-tree 
roots  that  followed  the  decaying  bones  of  Roger 
Williams,  and  preserved  the  form  of  the  man  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom  after  it  had  left  the  animal, 
has  the  writer,  a  member  of  the  Old  Colony  His 
torical  Society,  chosen  to  follow  out,  through 
scattered  archives,  a  few  buried  facts  in  an  effort 
to  preserve  in  the  Kingdom  of  Letters  some  out 
line  of  two  long-vanished  Yankee  gentlemen,  with 
the  hope  that  another  generation  may  find  profit 
or  pleasure  in  reading  of  men  who  held  high  seats 
in  the  councils  of  their  day.  As  these  two  per 
sonages  came  upon  the  stage  at  a  robust  period, 
giving  fine  opportunity  for  distinction,  it  seems 
worth  while  to  attempt  to  rehabilitate  their 

[v] 


Greeting 

careers  with  some  warmth  of  life;  to  show  what 
they  stood  for  in  their  day  and  generation;  to 
revive  awhile  the  contemporaneous  pulse-beat; 
and  give  a  glimpse  of  the  depth  of  feeling,  suffer 
ing,  sacrifice,  and  heartrending  attendant  upon 
those  days  of  stirring  thought  and  action,  when 
one  people  were  severing  the  political  bands  which 
bound  them  to  another;  when  families  were  sun 
dered  in  the  sifting  of  parties;  when  the  Lion  and 
the  Unicorn  (the  arms  of  King  George  with  the 
garter  motto,  "Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense")  gave 
place  to  the  lone  Indian  and  uplifted  arm  on  the 
seal  proclaiming,  "Ense  petit  placidam  sub  liber- 
tate  quietem";  when,  at  the  close  of  the  Thanks 
giving  proclamation,  "God  save  the  King"  be 
came  "God  save  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa 
chusetts." 

During  that  era  in  which  this  story  lies,  novels 
were  often  constructed  in  a  series  of  personal  let 
ters,  such  as  the  immortal  Clarissa  Harlowe, 
Humphrey  Clinker,  or  the  American  Eliza  Whar- 
ton.  The  first  impulse  was  to  present  the  lives  and 
times  of  our  subjects  in  gossipy  letters,  supposed 
to  be  written  by  local  characters  who  discussed 
events  of  their  day.  This  proved  a  more  unsatis 
factory  task  than  had  been  anticipated.  Second 
Thought  whispered  that  an  attractive  method  of 
preserving  the  peaches  of  Truth  in  a  syrup  of  Fic 
tion  might  be  to  attempt  a  biographical  romance. 

[  vi  1 


Greeting 

What  better  underlying  groundwork  could  a  ro 
mancer  ask  around  which  to  weave  the  delicate 
embroidery  of  his  fancy?  These  central  figures, 
though  local,  have  many  experiences  touching  the 
universal  comedy  and  tragedy — a  christening  in 
the  Old  South  Church;  a  mother's  life  sacrificed  to 
her  child's  existence;  two  students  at  Harvard  Col 
lege;  their  subsequent  rivalries  in  love,  law,  and 
politics;  the  strategy  by  which  one  is  decoyed 
from  his  duties  by  the  other;  a  minister's  son 
selling  a  slave  in  the  Carolinas ;  a  child  demented 
as  a  result  of  political  frenzy;  two  men  severed  in 
their  associations  by  opposite  views  of  govern 
ment;  one  leaping  into  immortal  fame  by  signing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  other 
hunted  from  his  home  by  fellow  townsmen;  the 
son  of  one  hero  a  genius  of  letters,  the  son  of  the 
other  an  inebriate  vagabond;  a  wife  buried  in  the 
bosom  of  the  ocean,  and  the  pitiful  tragic  end,  by 
his  own  hand,  of  a  venerable  expatriate  in  Lon 
don.  In  such  experiences,  there  is  ample  founda 
tion  for  the  story-teller  who  wishes  to  lead  his 
reader  into  the  Castles  of  Imagination  where  so 
many  pleasant  things  occur.  But  even  though  the 
writer  win  the  compliment  given  to  Defoe  ("  he  lies 
like  the  truth"),  the  matter-of-fact  reader,  skepti 
cal  and  unsatisfied,  might  reward  his  pains  by  ex 
claiming,  "Yes!  Yes!  All  moonshine!"  and  fling 
the  book  into  the  open  grate, 
[vii] 


Greeting 

When  the  long-labored-on,  semi-fictional  chap 
ters  were  submitted  to  venerable  antiquarians, 
the  author  received  the  rather  pointed  injunction 
to  forswear  all  fancy  on  the  ground  that  Fact  is 
more  fascinating  than  Fiction;  and  after  all,  per 
haps  the  finest  charm  of  a  story  lies  in  measuring 
the  incidents  of  one's  own  life  with  those  which 
have  actually  happened  to  another;  in  knowing 
what  that  person  was  doing  when  at  the  same  age; 
what  relation  the  individual  bore  to  the  mass  of 
humanity;  what  scenes  his  eyes  beheld;  what  were 
his  tastes  and  humors;  what  his  changing  points 
of  view;  how  he  governed  his  passions;  and  espe 
cially  (for  this  is  the  real  man)  what  thoughts 
went  drifting  through  his  brain  from  the  mother's 
knee  to  tottering  age.  Our  heroes,  of  course, 
passed  through  the  same  tremulous  mental  condi 
tions  as  do  we  to-day  —  hope  and  melancholy, 
light  and  darkness,  love  and  jealousy,  pride  and 
renunciation,  temptation  and  triumph  (the  old 
passions  remain  the  same,  mind  whetting  against 
mind,  heart  wrestling  with  heart)  —  and  it  is  the 
relation  of  these  human  passions  to  the  different 
settings  and  varying  times  which  makes  the  local 
color. 

Then  let  it  stand  as  an  attempt  at  faithful  por 
traiture  executed  with  such  liberties  as  the  por 
trait  painter  is  allowed.  If,  at  any  time,  the  reader 
has  reason  to  suspect  that  the  narrative  is  founded 
[  viii  1 


Greeting 

on  circumstantial  evidence,  he  will  please  bear 
with  the  artisan,  upon  the  plea  that  the  original 
color  had  not  all  worked  out  of  the  brush.  In 
twining  these  two  lives  together  the  writer  takes 
a  leaf  from  Plutarch,  who  frequently  pairs  his 
heroes  for  balance  and  relief,  measuring  a  Greek 
against  a  Roman.  In  this  case  the  brace  of  he 
roes  were  at  one  time  neighbors,  but  followed 
opposite  political  stars,  bringing  widely  divergent 
fortunes.  The  heat  of  action,  long  since  cooled, 
has  left  each  man  in  clear  individuality.  We  are 
sufficiently  far  removed  from  the  immediate 
theatre  of  their  glory  to  untangle  the  snarl  of  alli 
ances  and  feuds,  and  place  their  personal  accom 
plishments  in  better  perspective  than  could  their 
neighbor,  whose  prejudice,  pride,  and  jealousy  was 
blinding  him  to  see  exactly  each  actor's  true  place 
in  the  quick-moving  drama. 

In  assembling  material  for  this  book  the  writer 
is  indebted  to  Charles  F.  Adams,  Frank  B.  San- 
born,  Henry  C.  Crane,  Franklin  Pratt,  William  G. 
Davis,  C.  H.  Pope,  Mary  A.  Tenney,  Joshua 
Crane,  D.  Howard  Briggs,  Houghton  Mifflin  Co., 
James  H.  Stark,  Perry  Walton,  Willard  Leonard, 
Robert  Reid,  Old  Colony  Historical  Society,  Bos- 
tonian  Society,  Harvard  University,  Boston  Athe 
naeum,  Mr.  Tracy,  curator  of  the  State  archives, 
and  others. 


CONTENTS 

GREETING     ...... v 

PREAMBLE *    .    .    .    i      i 

AT  FIRST  THE  INFANT/  .......  17 

I.   THE  OLD  COLONY  BACKGROUND     ...  19 

II.  A  BRAHMIN  PEDIGREE •    •  39 

III.  LAND  OF  THE  LEONARDS 53 

THEN  THE  SCHOOL-BOY     .......    67 

IV.  BOSTON  LATIN  AND  NORTON  SCHOOL  DAYS    69 

V.   HARVARD   COLLEGE  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY 91 

NEXT  THE  SOLDIER    .    . 105 

VI.  ADVENTURES  BY  SEA  AND  FOREST  .     .     .  107 
VII.  A  FAMILY  OF  COLONELS    > 128 

AND  THEN  THE    LOVER    ..    ...    .    .    ...  .  135 

VIII.  HANGING  THE  SHINGLES     .    .    .    .    .    •.  137 

IX.  A  BELLE  OF  TAUNTON 153 

X.  AUNT  EUNICE  AND  SALLY  COBB     .    .    .162 
XI.   LEONARD'S  SECOND  MARRIAGE   ....  183 


Contents 


NEXT  THE  JUSTICE     .    .< 199 

XII.   KING'S  ATTORNEY 201 

XIII.  A  CAUSE  CELEBRE 212 

XIV.  THE  GREAT  AND  GENERAL  COURT  .     .221 
XV.  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS      .     .     .  237 

XVI.  A  TORY  ABSENTEE     .    . 262 

XVII.   THE  MASSACHUSETTENSIS  PAPERS    .     .  277 
XVIII.  TAUNTON  DURING  THE  REVOLUTION      .  294 

XIX.   FIRST  ATTORNEY-GENERAL   OF  MASSA 
CHUSETTS    .     .313 

XX.   A  SUPREME  COURT  JUSTICE    .    .    .     .329 

XXI.  DANIEL  IN  THE  LIONS'  DEN   ....  339 

XXII.    CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  THE  BERMUDAS     .     .351 

THE  LEAN  AND  SLIPPERED  PANTALOON  .  356 

XXIII.  A  FAMILY  OF  BOSTONIANS       ....  367 

XXIV.  AN  AGED  EXILE  IN  LONDON  ....  386 

LAST  SCENE  OF  ALL -    -  393 

XXV.  PASSING  OF  A  PATRIOT 395 

XXVI.   LAST  OF  A  LOYALIST 398 

A   CALENDAR  OF  LIVES 401 

[xii] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAINE'S  STATUE,  TAUNTON Frontispiece 

LEONARD'S  MANSION       . I 

OLD  STATE  HOUSE 6 

JOHN  ADAMS 12 

ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE ^    20 

DANIEL  LEONARD 34 

PURITAN  GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT      ....    46 

ELEGY  OF  THOMAS  LEONARD       54 

PROPOSED  MONUMENT  TO  IRON  PIONEERS  ....     58 
LEONARD  " HOUSE  OF  SEVEN  GABLES"    ....    64 

MAP  OF  BOSTON 70 

BOSTON  HARBOR 80 

HARVARD  COLLEGE 92 

HARVARD  COMMENCEMENT  PROGRAMME     ....  102 

GOVERNOR  THOMAS  HUTCHINSON 130 

LAWYER  AT  COURT 146 

PERSECUTING  A  TORY 206 

BOSTON  MASSACRE 214 

OLD  PROVINCE  HOUSE 222 

[  xiii  ] 


Illustrations 


HERRING  PETITION 228 

HALL  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 234 

PRAYER  IN  CONGRESS 242 

SIGNING  THE  DECLARATION 254 

INDEPENDENCE  HALL   ...........  260 

BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL       274 

TAUNTON  GREEN 300 

JOHN  HANCOCK 330 

RECEPTION  TO  LOYALISTS 342 

BERMUDA       358 

SAM  ADAMS 368 

OLD  SOUTH  CHURCH       378 

TEMPLE  BAR     ........ 388 


TWO  MEN  OF  TAUNTON 

PREAMBLE 

Under  which  king,  Bezonian  ?  speak,  or  die. 

Henry  IV. 

HAD  you  been  living  in  the  days  of  the 
American  Revolution  and  chanced  to 
stroll  through  the  village  of  Taunton  in 
the  early  morning,  the  last  of  May,  1774,  you 
might  have  seen  a  gay  young  man,  then  turning 
his  thirty-fourth  birthday,  arrayed  in  rich  velvet 
coat,  white  stockings,  bright-buckled  shoes,  and 
cocked  hat  flashing  with  gold  braid,  as  he  came 
forth  from  the  mansion  on  the  northwest  side 
of  the  sprawling,  pasture-like  common,  known 
throughout  the  Old  Colony  as  "Ta'nt'n  Green." 
Surveying  the  heavens  with  his  weather  eye,  as 
he  takes  a  pinch  from  his  lacquered  snuff-box, 
our  fashionable  friend  walks  down  the  box-lined 
path  to  the  stable,  where  he  gives  sundry  orders 
to  Spencer,  a  colored  groom,  who,  thereupon, 
changes  his  coat  and  crosses  to  the  house  newly 
erected  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  Green.  The 
slave  sounds  a  heavy  knocker  and  then,  with 
respectful  bow,  communicates  his  message  to  a 
tall,  spare  man,  in  years  rising  forty,  but  appar- 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


elled  with   less   regard    to  the    latest  mode    of 
London  than  his  neighbor. 

An  hour  later  this  tall  gentleman,  carrying  a 
white  canvas  bag  and  cane,  emerges  from  his 
house  with  a  small  boy  clinging  to  his  finger  and 
his  young  wife,  sunbonnetted,  by  his  side.  To 
gether,  the  trio  walk  to  the  mansion  of  their 
grand  neighbor,  who  is  conversing  with  his  wife 
and  six-year-old  daughter  in  the  blossom-scented 
dooryard.  The  family  party  is  joined  by  such 
early-rising  townsmen  as  young  Dr.  Cobb,  Rich 
ard  Caldwell,  the  storekeeper,  Parson  Caleb 
Barnum,  and  others  alert  to  the  imminent  political 
crisis.  Presently  a  pair  of  spirited  horses,  driven 
by  an  ebony  Jehu,  drag  a  yellow  coach  up  to  the 
front  entrance.  With  a  stirrup-cup  and  parting 
joke  about  saving  their  country,  the  eager  discus 
sion  of  men  and  matters  of  importance  is  broken 
off  and  the  tall  man  and  his  neighbor  (bidding 
their  wives  such  a  good-bye  as  men  married 
four  years  bestow)  enter  the  vehicle  with  their 
bags  and  pipes  and  canes,  and  at  the  crack  of 
the  whip  are  off  to  the  northward  on  the  old  Bay 
Road. 

Were  you  a  stranger  in  the  town,  the  village 
hairdresser  would  have  told  you  that  the  two 
travellers  were  Colonel  Leonard  and  Squire  Paine, 
both  lately  elected  to  the  General  Court,  and  now 
setting  out  for  the  summer  session  at  Boston. 

[2] 


Preamble 


Then  if,  like  some  daring  school-boy  without 
prejudice  against  a  dust-bath,  you  could  have 
chased  behind,  and  stolen  a  seat  on  top  of  the 
horsehide  trunk  strapped  to  the  rumble  (dang 
ling  your  feet  over  the  brass  nails,  spelling  the 
initials  "D.  L."),  you  might  have  heard  a  lively 
colloquy  as  they  rolled  along  through  the  spring 
forest,  whitened  with  flowering  dogwood  and  fra 
grant  with  opening  wild-grape  blossoms.  The 
conversation  begins  with  comment  on  the  glory 
of  the  morning  and  the  freshness  of  nature;  is  in 
terspersed  with  the  greeting  of  friends,  passing  in 
chaises  or  on  horseback;  drifts  into  ominous  epi 
sodes  of  the  day  —  the  omission  this  summer  of 
the  Harvard  Commencement  which  they  were 
wont  to  attend,  omitted  this  year  because  of  the 
fermenting  state  of  public  affairs;  the  Boston 
Tea  Party  of  the  previous  winter;  the  bold  burn 
ing  of  the  Gaspee  at  Providence;  the  impeachment 
of  Judge  Oliver  for  accepting  a  salary  from  the 
Crown;  the  Port  Bill  about  to  go  into  effect  and 
the  sympathy  for  Boston,  shown  by  towns  far  and 
near,  in  offering  sheep,  fish,  meal,  wood,  and  her 
ring  for  her  subsistence. 

As  they  talked,  feeling  their  way  with  cautious 
words,  deep  convictions  were  working  to  outward 
expression;  each  was  gradually  revealing  his  in 
most  personal  attitude  toward  the  impending 
crisis.  Out  of  the  depths  of  ancestral  influences, 

[3  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


from  delicate  springs  of  temperament  and  associa 
tion,  came  intuitive  predilections  which  shaped 
their  different  views.  Each  felt  in  his  heart  pre 
sentiments  of  his  relation  to  coming  events;  for 
"in  to-day  already  walks  to-morrow." 

The  occupants  of  this  coach  typified,  in  their 
attitude  to  each  other,  the  fatal  chasm  between 
two  political  parties.  The  crucial  dilemma,  in 
which  Paine  and  Leonard  found  themselves,  of 
choosing  between  Friends  of  Government  and 
Sons  of  Liberty,  involved  fame,  property,  home, 
and  country.  Paine,  revolting  against  constituted 
authority,  quotes  Locke,  Milton,  Grotius,  and 
argues  for  the  right  of  secession,  much  as  Calhoun 
did  in  the  next  century  when  South  Carolina 
sought  to  withdraw  from  the  Union.  Paine  up 
holds  the  rights  of  the  colonies  and  contends  that 
all  authority  is  vested  in  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned;  that  it  is  a  fundamental  right  of  the  people 
to  have  some  check  or  control  on  the  legislature; 
that  the  laws  of  England  should  have  no  force 
here,  unless  confirmed  by  the  General  Court;  if 
the  right  of  taxation  is  conceded  to  Parliament, 
what  power  or  influence  is  left  to  America  ? 

Leonard  replies  that  the  power  of  Parliament  is 
coextensive  with  the  empire,  and  that  George  III 
is  King  of  Massachusetts  as  much  as  of  Nova 
Scotia  or  Ireland;  that  if  the  Crown  cannot  tax 
the  colonies,  it  is  not  sovereign  and  there  is  no 

[4] 


Preamble 


general  government;  there  cannot  be  two  powers 
in  the  same  State;  to  permit  the  lesser  to  with 
draw  from  the  greater  will  unhinge  all  govern 
ment.  Great  Britain  has  protected  the  colonists 
in  their  wars,  and  America  should  bear  a  part  of 
the  national  burden  in  return;  she  has  cost  more 
to  maintain  than  has  been  received  in  taxes.  He 
expatiates  on  the  certainty  of  defeat  for  the  raw 
Provincials  in  battle  with  the  King's  troops;  and 
on  the  summary  punishment  of  rebellion.  Eng 
land,  determined  to  enforce  her  laws,  will  send  an 
organized  army  to  crush  the  undisciplined  militia ; 
her  navy  will  destroy  the  towns  along  the  coast, 
while  Canadians  and  savages  will  desolate  the 
inland  settlements.  Even  should  the  colonists 
triumph,  they  would  quarrel  over  boundaries  and 
military  rule  by  reason  of  diversity  of  laws  and 
religion;  and  France  and  Spain  would  soon  take 
their  ancient  possessions  and  divide  the  continent 
between  them.  If  the  colonists  have  any  real 
grievance,  it  is  not  from  illegal  use  of  power  by 
Parliament,  but  from  lack  of  representation  in 
that  body. 

Arguing  around  the  circle,  they  try  to  keep 
within  constitutional  bounds,  and  if  Leonard 
meets  all  his  points,  Paine  falls  back  on  "first 
principles."  "Yes,  I  know,"  he  replies,  "but  the 
natural  law  of  right  takes  precedence  over  parlia 
mentary  statutes."  If  Leonard  insists  that  loy- 

[5  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


alty  to  the  Constitution  is  the  first  duty  of  the 
subject,  Paine  answers,  "Between  loyalty  to 
King  George  and  loyalty  to  King  Conscience,  I 
cannot  hesitate."  Paine  seems  to  defy  law  and 
order,  Leonard  to  obey  them;  one  is  appealing  to 
the  past,  the  other  to  the  future.  Leonard  is  a 
Unionist,  Paine  a  secessionist. 

The  travellers  smoke,  gesticulate,  and  earnestly 
discuss  the  new  Governor  Gage,  and  his  intention 
of  convening  the  Legislature  at  Salem.  As  they 
draw  near  Milton,  they  speak  of  Governor  Hutch- 
inson,  who  is  preparing  to  sail  for  England;  and 
when  Colonel  Leonard  proposes  to  drive  in  for 
a  farewell  call  upon  him,  Squire  Paine  is  careful 
to  say  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Leonard,"  excusing 
himself  on  the  ground  of  pressing  business  requir 
ing  his  immediate  attention  in  Boston,  where  we 
may  assume  that  a  short,  gray-headed  man,  by 
the  name  of  Sam  Adams,  was  a  greater  attraction 
at  that  moment  than  the  royal  governor. 

These  two  distinguished  Tauntonians  were  thus 
gravitating  —  one  toward  Sam  Adams,  the  other 
toward  Thomas  Hutchinson  —  the  antipodal 
master-minds  of  the  opposing  Whig  and  Tory 
parties  in  Massachusetts. 

It  was  some  two  months  later  that  the  final 
parting  of  the  ways  came  for  these  fellow-trav 
ellers.  Then,  if  you  still  lingered  around  Taunton 
Green,  you  might  have  seen,  one  August  morning, 

[6] 


OLD   STATE    HOUSE,   BOSTON 


Preamble 


Squire  Paine  departing  again,  this  time  in  his  own 
chaise,  escorted  by  cheering  fellow-citizens  wish 
ing  him  God-speed  upon  his  way,  to  the  first 
American  Congress.  A  few  days  later,  Colonel 
Leonard  steals  away  from  his  hearthstone  to  es 
cape  annihilation  at  the  hands  of  his  townsmen, 
and  is  destined  never  again  to  make  his  home  in 
this  region  of  his  forbears. 

Viewed  from  our  standpoint  of  American  ideals 
of  patriotism  and  liberty,  there  is  a  strong  tempt 
ation  to  treat  melodramatically  these  two  rivals, 
sanctifying  Paine  and  vilifying  Leonard.  Even 
though  Leonard  made  a  monstrous  mistake  and 
missed  his  aim  in  life,  we  believe  that  his  motives 
were  pure,  and  do  not  charge  him  with  evil  de 
signs  against  his  country,  nor  brand  him  with 
obloquy.  Turning  the  searchlight  on  all  corners 
of  Paine's  career,  we  do  not  find  a  paragon  of 
virtue. 

Each  was  a  success  and  each  a  failure;  for  so 
long  as  human  ideals  outrun  human  attainments, 
so  long  is  each  individual  bound  to  be  a  self- 
convicted  failure;  so  long  as  one  is  loyal  to  the 
daily  dictates  of  implanted  conscience  and  works 
bravely  onward,  he  may  be  a  glorious  success. 
With  one  hand  we  hold  fast  to  the  good;  with  the 
other  we  reach  out  for  the  better.  Always  there 
is  the  outgrown  established  order,  to  which  Leon 
ard  clung,  at  war  with  the  eternal  forward  move- 

[7] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ment  of  which  Paine  was  a  part.  The  thrill  of 
most  satisfying  happiness  comes  when  we  let  go 
the  ancient  order  of  things,  do  something  new, 
and  feel  we  are  doing  right;  when  the  restraint  of 
heredity,  of  habit,  of  the  law  of  years  is  broken, 
and  the  liberated  spirit  cries,  "  I  have  found  satis 
faction  in  new  things ;  I  have  left  the  old  wrecks 
behind  me."  And  so  our  sympathies  remain  with 
Paine. 

These  men  were  alike  in  many  ways :  both  grew 
up  only  sons;  both  were  Harvard  graduates;  both 
lawyers;  once  admirers  of  the  same  woman;  both 
found  homes  on  Taunton  Green;  always  promi 
nent  in  public  office,  both  became  judges;  and 
both  lived  beyond  threescore  and  ten.  Sharp 
contrasting  as  well  as  parallel  pictures  come  to 
view,  and  their  diversified  careers  seem  to  con 
form  remarkably  to  the  Seven  Ages  which  the 
English  dramatist  has  set  for  this  play  of  life. 
Then  let  us  visualize  the  successive  scenes  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  follow  the  two  players 
as  they  walk  the  stage,  making  their  exits  and 
their  entrances,  each,  in  due  time,  playing  his 
many  parts. 

FIRST  THE  INFANT. 

Paine,  nestled  in  furs,  carried  down  School 
Street,  in  Boston,  to  be  christened  in  the  Old 
South  Church;  Leonard,  a  motherless  babe,  in 
[8] 


Preamble 


the  arms  of  a  negro  nurse  at  Norton  Planta 
tions. 

THEN  THE  SCHOOL-BOY. 

Paine,  slipping  across  to  the  Latin  School, 
next  door  to  his  home,  and  reciting  bonus-a-um 
to  the  famous  schoolmaster  Lovell;  Leonard, 
barefooted,  ruddy  and  freckled,  riding  his  pony 
to  trie  "deestreek"  school  at  Winnecunnett, 
or  delivering  the  class  oration  at  Harvard  in 
presence  of  the  historian  Hutchinson. 

NEXT  THE  SOLDIER. 

Paine,  the  militant  and  adventurous  young 
chaplain  in  the  Crown  Point  Expedition  against 
French  and  Indians;  Leonard,  in  resplendent 
uniform,  a  lieutenant-colonel,  drilling  the  raw 
recruits  at  the  annual  June  muster  on  Taunton 
Green. 

THEN  THE  LOVER. 

Paine,  a  tardy  benedict,  marries,  with  amus 
ing  suddenness,  into  an  iron-master's  family; 
Leonard  starts  out  in  a  chaise  on  a  "wedding 
tower"  through  New  England  with  the  charm 
ing  daughter  of  Colonel  White. 

NEXT  THE  JUSTICE. 

Squire  Paine,  after  participating  in  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  at  Philadelphia  and  signing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  goes  riding 

[9] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


through  the  woods  of  Maine,  then  a  part  of  the 
court  circuit  of  Massachusetts  judges;  while 
Leonard,  in  flowing,  full-bottomed  wig,  dra 
matically  presides  over  the  motley  population 
of  the  summery  islands  at  Bermuda. 

THE  PANTALOON  AGE. 

Paine,  gray  and  withered,  walks  in  procession 
with  his  old  comrades,  Adams  and  Gerry,  to 
arouse  patriotism  and  the  "spirit  of  '76,"  dur 
ing  the  naval  war  with  Great  Britain;  Leonard 
goes  tapping  with  his  cane  along  the  brick  side 
walks  of  London,  muttering  stories  of  his  old 
life  across  the  seas  to  children's  willing  ears. 

LAST  SCENE  OF  ALL. 

Paine  passes  out  of  life,  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  to  lie  buried  but  a  few  steps  from  the 
spot  where  he  was  born;  Leonard,  after  his 
tragic  end,  is  lonesomely  buried  in  the  heart 
of  the  biggest  city  in  Christendom. 

The  sources  from  which  this  book  is  compiled 
are  brief  sketches  of  Leonard  and  Paine  in  vari 
ous  publications;  their  letters  in  the  possession 
of  individuals,  families,  and  historical  societies; 
and  other  unpublished  "monuments  of  vanished 
minds."  The  private  journal  of  Paine  was  the 
sine  qua  non,  kindly  placed  by  his  descendants  at 
the  writer's  disposal. 

[  10  ] 


Preamble 


The  daily  chronicles  of  Bradford,  Winthrop, 
the  Mathers,  Sewall,  and  the  Adamses  embalm 
the  history  of  New  England  before  the  advent  of 
the  daily  paper.  These  were  not  meagre  records 
of  the  weather  and  their  own  whereabouts,  but 
comment  on  men  and  things,  their  opinions, 
prejudices,  aims  —  the  vital  movements  of  the 
days  we  wish  to  know.  A  record  of  Leonard's 
thoughts,  emotions,  and  succeeding  incidents  in 
his  life  might  have  more  charm  than  those  of 
Paine;  but  his  papers  were  scattered  to  the  four 
winds  or  kindled  into  bonfires  by  unsympathetic 
hands. 

Paine  kept  a  journal  nearly  seventy  years,  skip 
ping  scarcely  a  day,  except  from  September  3  to 
September  15,  1752,  when  Clio  herself  has  left 
no  record  of  English  history.  This  journal,  an 
epitome  of  legal  conciseness,  —  a  mere  brief  of 
his  earthly  pilgrimage,  —  is  extant,  save  the  log 
of  his  maritime  wanderings;  but  is  provokingly 
lean  and  unfruitful,  —  a  faithful  weather  report 
and  laconic  entries  of  daily  problems  uppermost 
in  his  mind.  He  was  not  so  gifted  with  ready 
flow  of  language,  as  Jonathan  Sewall  or  Peter 
Oliver;  nor  had  he  such  a  reflective  turn  as  John 
Adams.  For  example,  in  reference  to  the  above- 
mentioned  change  in  the  calendar,  Paine's  full 
entry  in  his  journal  is  merely  this : 

September  15,  1752.  This  day,  according  to  Act 
[  II   ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


of  Parliament,  we  begin  to  count  time  according 
to  the  Gregorian  Calendar. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  Ben  Franklin,  or  John 
Adams  would  have  philosophized  on  the  occasion 
which  added  eleven  days  to  their  lives  at  one  clip, 
and  gave  Franklin  excuse  for  keeping  two  birth 
days.1 

As  their  principal  contemporary,  weighing 
these  men  in  the  balances  of  judgment,  we  turn 
to  John  Adams,  whose  inquiring  mind  was  always 
dissecting  his  associates  in  his  private  records, 
sometimes  using,  it  almost  seems,  the  quill  of  a 
porcupine  dipped  in  vinegar. 

Daniel  Leonard  and  John  Adams  were  intimate 
friends  for  a  dozen  years,  associated  socially, 
politically,  professionally.  After  their  separation, 
Adams,  looking  back  through  half  a  century  to  the 
misty  figures  of  early  manhood,  once  spoke  of  his 
friendship  with  Leonard  as  "a  vapor  blown  off 
by  political  winds."  Again  he  wrote  to  Josiah 
Quincy: 

I  have  differed  for  many  years  in  political  senti 
ments  from  your  grandfather,  your  uncle  Samuel, 

1  The  discrepancy  between  the  solar  and  calendar  year  had 
been  increasing  for  centuries,  so  that  the  Protestant  and  Ro 
man  Catholic  countries  assigned  this  time  for  a  readjustment 
of  the  calendar;  while  the  Greek  Church  to  this  day  retains 
the  old  form. 

[12] 


JOHN    ADAMS 
By  Stuart 


Preamble 


your  cousin  Jonathan  Sewall,  Daniel  Leonard,  and 
some  others,  the  most  intimate  friends  I  ever  en 
joyed,  without  the  smallest  personal  altercation, 
and,  I  am  bold  to  say,  without  diminution  of  es 
teem  on  either  side. 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Jedidiah  Morse,  dated  Quincy, 
December  22,  1815,  Adams  again  refers  to  his 
brother  barristers  (Leonard,  Jonathan  Sewall, 
Samuel  Quincy)  as  his 

cordial,  confidential,  and  bosom  friends.  I  never,  in 
the  whole  course  of  my  life,  lived  with  any  other  men 
in  more  perfect  intimacy.  They  all  had  been  patri 
ots,  as  decided,  as  I  believed,  as  I  was. 

He  adds : 

Leonard  was  a  scholar,  a  lawyer,  and  an  orator, 
according  to  the  standard  of  those  days.  As  a  mem 
ber  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  even  down  to 
the  year  1770,  he  made  the  most  ardent  speeches 
which  were  delivered  in  that  House  against  Great 
Britain,  and  in  favor  of  the  Colonies.  His  popular 
ity  became  alarming.  The  two  sagacious  spirits, 
Hutchinson  and  Sewall,  soon  penetrated  his  char 
acter,  of  which,  indeed,  he  had  exhibited  very  vis 
ible  proofs.  He  had  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Ham 
mock,  who  had  left  her  a  portion,  as  it  was  thought  in 
that  day.  He  wore  a  broad  gold  lace  around  the 
rim  of  his  hat,  he  had  made  his  cloak  glitter  with 
laces  still  broader,  he  had  set  up  his  chariot  and 
pair,  and  constantly  travelled  in  it  from  Taunton 

[  13  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  Boston.  This  made  the  world  stare;  it  was  a  nov 
elty.  Not  another  lawyer  in  the  province,  attorney 
or  barrister,  of  whatever  age,  rank,  or  station,  pre 
sumed  to  ride  in  a  coach  or  in  a  chariot.  The  dis 
cerning  ones  soon  perceived  that  wealth  and  power 
must  have  charms  to  a  heart  that  delighted  in  so 
much  finery,  and  indulged  in  such  unusual  expense. 
Such  marks  could  not  escape  the  vigilant  eyes  of 
the  two  arch-tempters,  Hutchinson  and  Sewall,  who 
had  more  art,  insinuation,  and  address  than  all  the 
rest  of  their  party.  Poor  Daniel  was  beset  with 
great  zeal  for  his  conversion.  Hutchinson  sent  for 
him,  courted  him  with  the  ardor  of  a  lover,  reasoned 
with  him,  flattered  him,  overawed  him,  frightened 
him,  invited  him  to  come  frequently  to  his  house. 
As  I  was  intimate  with  Mr.  Leonard  during  the 
whole  of  this  process,  I  had  the  substance  of  this 
information  from  his  own  mouth,  was  a  witness 
to  the  progress  of  the  impression  made  upon  him, 
and  to  many  of  the  labors  and  struggles  of  his  mind, 
between  his  interest,  his  vanity,  and  his  duty. 

The  relation  of  Adams  to  Paine  was  different. 
Both  have  left  plain  evidence  of  their  opinions 
of  each  other.  Under  the  greensward  of  outward 
amiability  was  a  subsoil  of  jealous  rivalry,  turned 
by  the  plough  of  occasion  to  the  surface.  Paine 
was  proud.  Adams  (frankly  announcing  it  in  his 
diary)  was  self-seeking,  vain,  a  "home-made" 
man,  courageous,  tenacious,  forceful.  Much  to 

t  HI 


Preamble 


the  amusement  of  Paine,  Adams  made  an  inglo 
rious  debut  in  his  first  case  at  law.  In  the  excite 
ment  of  his  new  experience,  he  had  drawn  a 
defective  writ,  so  that  his  client,  who  had  been 
inclined  to  encourage  the  new  beginner,  repented 
his  folly  and  "wished  the  affair  in  Hell." 

Adams,  aged  twenty-three,  says  of  Paine,  aged 
twenty-eight: 

How  should  I  bear  Bob  Paine's  detraction  ?  Should 
I  be  angry  and  take  vengeance  by  scandalizing  him? 
or  should  I  be  easy,  undisturbed,  and  praise  him  as 
far  as  he  is  praiseworthy?  —  return  good  for  evil?  I 
should  have  been  well  pleased,  if  he  had  said  I  was  a 
very  ingenious,  promising,  young  fellow;  but,  as  it  is, 
I  am  pretty  easy. 

1758.  December  3.  Bob  Paine  is  conceited,  and 
pretends  to  more  knowledge  and  genius  than  he  has. 
I  have  heard  him  say  that  he  took  more  pleasure  in 
solving  a  problem  in  algebra  than  in  a  frolic.  He 
told  me,  the  other  day,  that  he  was  as  curious  after  a 
minute  and  particular  knowledge  of  mathematics 
and  philosophy  as  I  could  be  about  the  laws  of 
antiquity.  He  asked  me  what  Dutch  commentator 
I  meant?  I  said,  "  Vinnius."  "Vinnius!  "says  he 
(with  a  flush  of  real  envy,  but  pretended  contempt) ; 
"  you  cannot  understand  one  page  of  Vinnius."  He 
must  know  that  human  nature  is  disgusted  with  such 
incomplaisant  behavior;  besides,  he  has  no  right  to 
say  that  I  do  not  understand  every  word  in  Vinnius, 
for  he  knows  nothing  of  me.  For  the  future  let  me 

[  isi 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


act  the  part  of  a  critical  spy  upon  him;  not  that  of 
an  open,  unsuspicious  friend.  Last  Superior  Court 
at  Worcester,  he  dined  in  company  with  Mr.  Grid- 
ley,  Mr.  Trowbridge  and  several  others,  at  Mr. 
Putnam's;  and  although  a  modest,  attentive  be 
havior  would  have  best  become  him  in  such  a  com 
pany,  yet  he  tried  to  engross  the  whole  conversation 
to  himself.  He  did  the  same  in  the  evening,  when 
all  the  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  were  present; 
and  he  did  the  same  last  Thanksgiving  Day  at 
Colonel  Quincy's,  when  Mr.  Wibird,  Mr.  Cranch, 
etc.,  were  present.  That  evening,  at  Putnam's,  he 
called  me  a  numskull  and  a  blunderbuss  before  all 
the  superior  judges.  ...  He  is  an  impudent,  ill-bred, 
conceited  fellow;  yet  he  has  wit,  sense,  and  learn 
ing,  and  a  great  deal  of  humor;  and  has  virtue  and 
piety,  except  his  fretful,  peevish,  childish  complaints 
against  the  disposition  of  things. 

Referring  to  their  appointments  as  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  Adams  says : 

Phil.  9  June  1776. 

Paine  has  acted  in  his  own  character,  although 
I  think  not  consistent  with  the  public  character 
which  he  has  been  made  to  wear.  However,  I  con 
fess  I  am  not  much  mortified  with  this,  for  the  bench 
will  not  be  the  less  respectable  for  having  less  wit, 
humor,  drollery,  or  fun  upon  it;  very  different  qual 
ities  are  necessary  for  that  department. 


AT  FIRST  THE  INFANT 


CHAPTER   I 
The  Old  Colony  Background 

Won  it  by  the  axe  and  harrow, 

Held  it  by  the  axe  and  sword, 
Bred  a  race  with  brawn  and  marrow, 

From  no  alien  over-lord. 
Gained  the  right  to  guide  and  govern, 

Then  with  labor  strong  and  free 
Forged  the  land,  a  shield  of  Empire 

Silver  Sea  to  Silver  Sea. 

D.  S.  SCOTT. 

THE  stalwart  Pilgrim  fathers,  wading 
through  the  curling  surf  from  their  shal 
lop  (a  "bow-shoote"  distance)  to  the 
welcome  sands  at  the  point  of  Cape  Cod,  and 
bearing  in  their  arms  the  loyal  Pilgrim  mothers, 
coming  ashore  to  do  their  belated  washing, 
make  a  homely  and  amusing,  but  very  signifi 
cant,  picture  of  the  landing  of  our  Mayflower  an 
cestors.  The  presence  of  those  \vomen  betokens 
that  the  sea-worn  home-seekers  had  come  to  stay 
—  to  breed  a  new  race  which  should  perpetuate 
their  vital  principles  as  an  abiding  influence  in  the 
land.  The  genesis  of  this  new  provincial  type, 
now  known  throughout  the  world  as  the  "Down 
East  Yankee,"  was  in  this  Old  Colony,  and  on  Cape 
Cod— a  "Clam  Yankee,"  the  Dixie  folks  call  him. 

[  19] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Those  descendants  of  Norman  and  Saxon 
brought  sturdy  bodies,  evolved  by  long  warfare 
against  other  races,  and  a  moral  fibre  nerved  by 
religious  conviction  and  stiffened  by  persecution. 
Their  most  conspicuous  quality  was  courage — • 
not  so  much  courage  to  come  (for  in  time  of  per 
secution,  the  line  of  least  resistance  is  to  migrate), 
but  courage  to  stay  in  this  new  country,  to  put 
the  plough  into  this  stubborn  soil  and  not  turn 
back  with  their  returning  ship.  It  is  this  "staying 
quality"  which  compels  our  reverence. 

Hunger  brought  them  hither  —  soul-hunger  for 
the  worship  of  God  according  to  their  light.  With 
heroic  strength  of  mind  they  held  tenaciously  to 
their  Nicene  Creed,  and  rebelled  against  formal 
ism  and  ecclesiastical  pomp;  tolerated  no  inter 
mediary  between  themselves  and  their  Maker; 
recognized  two  sources  of  power — God  and  the 
Devil ;  thought  it  difficult  to  tally  a  happy  life  with 
a  virtuous  one;  guided  their  lives  by  the  King 
James  Version  (loath  to  question  its  teachings) ; 
and  considered  piety  the  chief  end  of  man.1  They 
felt  they  had  crossed  the  ocean  in  fulfilment  of 
some  divine  revelation  of  human  progress.  The 
beckoning  finger  of  Cape  Cod  was  a  providential 
guide  to  this  location. 

1  John  D.  Long  has  pointed  out  that  they  were  not  all "  saints" ; 
the  varied  elements  of  human  nature  cropped  out  in  the  first 
shipload. 

[20] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

Peculiar  characteristics  differentiate  this  Old 
Colony  Yankee  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  The 
natural  features  of  a  country  are  said  to  mould  its 
inhabitants.  In  this  Old  Colony  there  are  no 
mountains,  great  rivers,  waterfalls,  or  prairies. 
The  four  indigenous  factors  influencing  them  were: 
the  surrounding  sea,  the  fickle  climate,  the  stingy 
soil,  and  the  gloomy  wilderness  concealing  treach 
erous  neighbors. 

The  sea  invites  exploration,  demands  a  wide 
horizon,  inspires  expectancy  and  curiosity.  The 
capricious  climate  is  a  test  of  physical  quality, 
with  its  range  of  weather  from  arctic  to  tropic  on 
short  notice,  and  compels  the  Yankee  in  self-pro 
tection  to  become  a  close  observer  of  nature,  and 
may  explain  his  remarkable  propensity  for  guess 
ing.  To  fortify  his  constitution  against  these  mer 
curial  changes,  he  discovered  that  hard  cider  and 
Jamaica  rum  were  agreeable  accessories,  driving 
out  fever  in  summer  and  warming  his  stomach  in 
winter;  and  incidentally  of  value  in  bargaining 
with  red  men  or  in  prolonging  the  pastoral  call. 
The  Yankee  was  not  always  a  good  match  for 
John  Barleycorn.  He  was  sometimes  trundled 
home  in  a  wheelbarrow  from  the  muster;  after  an 
installation  festival,  ministers  were  known  to  be 
gently  tucked  in  bed  by  kind-hearted  parishioners; 
gin-sling,  toddy,  flip,  and  punch  gave  Saturday  a 
Donnybrook  finish;  in  Taunton,  the  store-town 

[21    ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


of  the  Old  Colony,  was  a  shed  on  Jockey  Lane 
known  as  the  "Morgue,"  where  maudlin  victims 
snored  off  their  week-end  sprees.1 

Damp  weather  produced  pulmonary  complaints. 
The  demise  of  the  New  England  winter  was  ac 
companied  by  a  train  of  ailments.  Wells  stag 
nant  in  summer  bred  autumn  fevers,  which  car 
ried  off  the  little  ones.  Salt  meats  and  heavy 
foods  produced  lank,  dyspeptic  bodies.  "Tell  me 
what  you  eat,  and  I'll  tell  you  what  you  are," 
says  a  Frenchman.  Diet  determines  mental  and 
moral  capacity.  Vegetarianism  was  an  unknown 
virtue.  Pies  of  mince-meat,  pumpkin,  apple, 
chicken,  clam,  and  rhubarb  were  a  mainstay, 
interlarded  with  "Injun"  pudding,  doughnuts, 
sausages,  hogs-head  cheese,  "b'iled  dinner,"  cod 
fish-balls,  johnny-cakes,  baked  beans,  succotash, 
and  pandowdy. 

From  the  soil  they  acquired  a  quality  called 
"grit." 

"Winning  by  inches, 

Holding  by  clinches, 
Slow  to  contention,  but  slower  to  quit; 

Now  and  then  failing, 
Never  once  quailing, 

Let  us  thank  God  for  our  Saxon  grit." 

1  There  were  then,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  five  times 
as  many  resorts  in  Taunton,  licensed  to  sell  liquors,  as  there 
are  to-day.  The  public  conscience  did  not  look  upon  this  drink 
ing  habit  as  an  enormous  sin. 

[22] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

Inland  it  was  so  rocky  that  they  declared  the 
ballast  from  the  Ark  went  overboard  there  during 
the  Flood;  toward  the  shore  it  was  so  sandy,  some 
one  remarked,  that  the  farmers  might  be  judged 
insane,  like  the  feigning  Ulysses  when  he  ploughed 
the  seashore  at  Ithaca ;  down  on  the  Cape  the  thin 
garment  of  soil  was  sadly  "out  at  heels  and 
elbows."  In  places  the  turf  was  sown  thick  with 
arrowheads  and  domestic  mementoes  of  the 
vanishing  Indian. 

How  to  deal  with  the  aborigines  was  a  vexatious 
problem.  The  newly  arrived  white  men  found 
themselves  between  two  fires;  Canonicus  in  the 
Rhode  Island  territory  was  hostile  to  Massasoit 
in  southern  Massachusetts.  The  red  men  dwelling 
in  this  corner  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  were  hardly 
more  developed  than  the  beavers  building  their 
dams  along  the  rivers,  the  deer  that  migrated  in 
families  through  the  forests,  or  the  colonies  of 
crows  holding  caucus  in  the  treetops.  The  Indian 
had  made  little  advancement  beyond  the  making 
of  a  bark  canoe  to  cross  the  ponds;  pointing  his 
arrows  with  flint  and  eagle  claws;  baking  clams  in 
seaweed;  fertilizing  corn  with  fish;  and  curing  skins 
of  moose  or  wild  cat  to  provide  clothing  and  shel 
ter.  Along  comes  the  white  man,  who  proceeds  to 
subjugate  the  four  elements  of  air,  earth,  fire,  and 
water,  as  vassals  to  do  his  work.  He  cuts  down 
the  primeval  timber  and  fashions  comfortable 

[23] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


dwelling-houses  (often  with  gambrel  roof,  in 
memory  of  the  Pilgrims'  sojourn  in  Holland); 
he  harnesses  the  rivers  to  make  nails,  boards, 
and  cider;  he  taxes  the  wind  to  turn  sails  for 
grinding  corn  into  meal;  he  digs  and  smelts 
bog-ore  into  rude  implements.  With  patient 
labor  he  converts  the  forests  into  pastures,  the 
pastures  into  cattle,  the  cattle  into  beef,  the  beef 
into  brawny  arms  to  fell  more  forests  and 
drive  his  enemies  from  the  earth.  These  dis 
coveries  the  red  children  of  the  forest  had  not 
dreamed  of;  even  as  those  pioneers  had  no  vision 
of  our  modern  electric  servants  and  aerial  con 
veyances. 

The  red  men  were,  for  the  most  part,  treated 
contemptuously  by  the  white  men  as  treacherous 
vermin.  King  Philip  was  persecuted  with  barbaric 
ferocity;  the  head  of  the  Princess  Weetamoe  was 
displayed  on  a  spontoon  in  Taunton  to  terrify 
Indian  captives;  Annawan,  after  his  capture  by 
the  daring  Captain  Church,  was  taken  to  Ply 
mouth  and  executed,  in  spite  of  Church's  promise 
that  his  life  should  be  spared  if  he  surrendered 
without  resistance.  Yet  there  was  some  show  of 
justice.  Governor  Bradford  proudly  recorded  that 
every  foot  of  the  Old  Colony  had  been  paid  for, 
though  the  Indians  often  sold  their  lands  for  a 
mess  of  pottage.  Several  white  men  were  once 
hanged  for  the  murder  of  an  Indian,  but  we  imag- 

[24] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

ine  these  white  men  were  "undesirable  citizens" 
of  the  tiny  republic.  There  was  an  attempt  to 
Christianize  the  savages.  Coadjutors  with  Eliot 

-  Bourne  and  Treat,  of  the  Cape,  Mayhew,  of 
Martha's  Vineyard,  and  Danforth,  of  Taunton 

-were  measurably  successful,  leading  a  large 
number  of  converts  into  semi-civilization,  teach 
ing  them  to  get  a  poor  living  by  farming  and 
whaling  —  the  latter  a  not  uncongenial  sport. 
But  praying  Indians  were  a  decadent  race,  and  at 
Mashpee,  Eastham,  and  Assawampsett  aroused 
almost  as  much  suspicion  as  their  unregenerate 
brothers.  Having  little  regard  for  property  rights, 
they  walked  into  town  and  took  what  they  needed 
without  apology.  Many  became  slaves;  one, 
named  "  Quock,"  was  long  in  the  family  of  Ephraim 
Leonard.  Miscegenation  with  the  imported  blacks 
produced  a  less  savage  but  no  less  fierce-looking 
type  of  man.  The  Indians  were  more  capable  of 
adopting  the  white  man's  vices  than  his  virtues. 
"  Fire-water,"  first  offered  them  on  their  meeting 
with  Governor  Carver,  was  much  to  their  liking 
and  contributed  toward  accelerating  King  Philip's 
War  a  few  years  later.  Algonquins  circled  in  the 
rear  of  the  seaside  settlements  "like  the  scythe  of 
death  ready  to  mow  them  down  at  any  moment." 
Scalping-knife  and  tomahawk  brought  dread 
alarm  to  young  and  old.  Often  the  valiant  house 
wife  sat  in  the  crotch  of  a  tree  with  loaded  flintlock 

[25] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  protect  her  husband's  scalp  as  he  hoed  the  grow 
ing  corn.1 

Sixty  years  of  contention  with  the  Indian- 
haunted  wilderness  made  the  Yankee  wary,  alert, 
rugged,  strong,  and  skeptical.  Tramping  the 
woods  and  hills,  laying  stone  walls  criss-cross  over 
the  fields,  hewing  timbers,  and  swinging  the  flail, 
lengthened  his  arms  and  legs  and  evolved  the 
prototype  of  Uncle  Sam.  He  became  horny- 
handed;  and  close-fisted  as  well,  carefully  storing 
away  in  the  chimney  whatever  "pieces  of  eight" 
came  to  him  in  days  when  trade  was  mostly  by 
barter.  He  held  little  reverence  for  the  "slothful 
servant";  indeed,  a  canny  pursuit  of  the  "root  of 
all  evil"  came  to  be  his  leading  trait  in  the  eyes  of 
the  British  nation. 

On  this  tall,  sun-browned,  strong-jawed  yeoman, 
whittling  with  his  jack-knife  notions  of  all  sorts; 
salt-witted,  self-contained,  standing  on  his  rights, 
content  if  not  molested,  —  put  a  coonskin  cap, 
galligaskins,  cowhide  boots,  a  quid  of  pig-tail  in 
his  cheek,  and  a  picturesque  buckskin  coat  con- 

1  These  Algonquins  first  used  the  word  "Yankee."  Having 
no  "1"  in  their  language,  they  could  come  no  nearer  to  pro 
nouncing  the  word  "English"  than  "Yengeesh,"  which  be 
came  corrupted  into  "Yankee."  A  towering,  gigantic,  iron 
statue  of  King  Philip,  with  uplifted  tomahawk  and  full  savage 
regalia,  should  be  erected  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hope  as 
a  memorial  tribute  of  the  Yankee  to  the  former  tenants  of  this 
land,  and  an  object  lesson  in  history. 

[26] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

cealing  the  patch  on  his  trousers,  and  you  have  a 
characteristic  type  of  the  dramatis  persona  of  our 
stage  when  "Farmer  George"  became  king.  Up 
before  sunrise,  he  toadied  to  no  man;  felt  himself 
equal  to  princes;  was  acquisitive  of  property 
(often  "land-poor");  he  sat  patiently  through 
Fast  Day  sermons,  and  after  candlelight  played 
checkers  and  "Old  Sledge"  on  a  hogshead  at  the 
"store."  All  the  King's  horses  and  all  the  King's 
men  could  not  drive  him.  He  was  filled  with 
bitter  resentment  at  foreign  oppression.  Holy 
water  and  papal  bulls  were  special  objects  of  his 
hatred.  The  Pope  and  the  Devil  were  religiously 
burned  on  Guy  Fawkes's  Day.1  His  nasal  twang 
and  drawl  were  aggravated  by  humming  Watts's 
hymns. 

These  Old  Colony  farmers,  foresters,  and  fisher 
men  came  together  at  town  meetings,  church 
gatherings,  barn-raisings,  auctions,  turkey  sup 
pers,  clambakes,  and  spelling-bees.  They  bred 
sheep,  goats,  swine,  cattle;  planted  flax,  wheat, 
turnips,  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins;  tanned  skins 
for  boots;  spun  wool  for  their  shirts;  trimmed 
furs  into  caps,  coats,  and  mittens;  and  became  a 
self-reliant  community.  Ingenuity,  thrift,  and 
energy  marked  them.  The  sick,  the  insane,  the 

1  Thomas  Coram,  of  England,  thought  that  the  citizens  of 
Taunton  might  never  become  enough  civilized  to  appreciate 
an  Episcopal  church. 

[27] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


deformed,  the  feeble-minded,  and  the  decrepit 
were  not  segregated,  but  were  a  charge  to  the 
family,  where  their  appearance  may  have  dulled 
the  edge  of  sympathy.  It  was  a  day  of  family  gov 
ernment,  family  amusement,  family  religion. 

Thomas  Paine,  in  1776,  observed  that  a  good 
portion  of  the  first-imported  virtue  was  inherited 
by  the  Revolutionary  patriots.  The  standard  of 
morality  and  high  ideals  was  maintained  among  a 
learned  ministry,  to  the  third  and  fourth  genera 
tions,  who  knew  not  the  Holland  life  or  the  graves 
of  their  English  forbears.  Constant  reading  of 
King  James's  Bible  had  developed  the  "New 
England  conscience"  always  ready  to  fly  "to  the 
cause  which  needs  assistance"  or  at  "the  wrong 
which  needs  resistance."  These  ministers,  college- 
trained,  self-searching,  faithful  servants  of  the 
Lord,  compelled  attendance  on  their  lengthy 
sermons;  and  were  careful  to  shape  public 
opinion  and  to  see  that  every  child  was  taught  to 
read,  revere,  and  understand  the  Bible.  But  the 
common  alma  mater  was  the  great  University  of 
the  Back  Woods.  In  their  wild  environment,  the 
lack  of  higher  education  tended  to  produce  a 
different  race.  Culture  gave  way  to  practical 
knowledge. 

The  Pilgrims  have  been  called  the  cream  of  the 
Puritans.  Although  the  Mayflower  company  came 
from  northern  England,  succeeding  immigration 

[  28] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

was  largely  from  southwestern  England.  Often  a 
shipload  of  immigrants  would  become  the  nucleus 
of  a  town  named  after  their  pastor's  home.  So  we 
find  Barnstable,  Bristol,  Dartmouth,  Falmouth, 
Norton,  Plympton,  Taunton,  Tiverton,  Truro, 
Somerset,  Swansea,  Wareham,  Yarmouth  were 
names  well  loved  by  those  old-country  folk.  The 
Pilgrim  beliefs  and  customs  predominated.  Many 
were  descendants  of  the  Leyden  church  mem 
bership.  Every  town  had  its  Congregational 
minister  to  support.  Men  ostracized  through 
religious  controversy  had  sought  shelter  in  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  each  ready  to  defend  his  creed. 
Those  who  sought  to  quibble  on  theology  could  be 
"  accommodated  "  in  discussing  the  Halfway  Cove 
nant,  the  fate  of  infants  unbaptized,  the  Inner 
Light,  Vicarious  Atonement,  Foreordination,  the 
use  of  the  fiddle  in  church  music,  and  whether  the 
communion  bread  could  be  digested  in  the  mate 
rial  body.  Baptists  settled  at  Rehoboth,  Swan 
sea,  and  Bristol ;  Quakers  increased  at  Dartmouth. 
Heresy  of  the  Old  World  became  orthodoxy  in 
the  New.  Calvinism  was  the  backbone  of  the 
religious  thought.  Protracted  fasts  and  vigils 
produced  visions  and  weird  revelations;  but  the 
"  Witchcraft  Delusion"  never  carried  the  natives 
completely  of!  their  mental  centre.  During  the 
periodical  "revivals,"  the  excitement  rose  to  the 
pitch  of  throwing  off  coats,  screaming  in  ecstatic 

[29] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


prayer,  and  committing  other  strange  antics  in  the 
name  of  a  calm  and  gentle  Christ;  but  mental 
equilibrium  was  restored  before  such  inhuman 
excesses  were  committed  as  at  Boston  and  Salem. 
Godly  and  ungodly  mingled  together.  "Home 
missionaries"  were  kept  alive  and  active,  by  un- 
regenerates  who  went  fishing  Sunday,  cheated  in 
"hoss"  trades,  chewed  tobacco,  swore  on  small 
provocation,  smuggled,  played  cards  for  shillings, 
and  too  often  came  under  the  Circean  spell  of  new 
rum  and  hard  cider. 

The  third  and  fourth  generations,  risen  from  the 
soil,  were  a  robust,  toddy-drinking  race,  of  ani 
mal  nature,  ever  ready  for  a  fight,  whether  with 
the  red  man  or  in  a  foolhardy  expedition  to  cap 
ture  the  citadel  at  Louisburg,  where,  the  story  goes, 
they  chased  the  flying  cannon  balls  of  the  enemy 
to  fire  them  back  again  before  they  became  cold. 
The  "unregenerates"  had  been  taught  by  the 
genius  loci  to  take  their  fun  in  boisterous  horse 
play.  Saturday  afternoons,  the  rustic  plough- 
jogger  from  Bearhole,  Slab  Ridge,  Tearall,  Hock- 
amock,  Rocky  Woods,  Great  Meadow  Hill,  Happy 
Hollow,  or  Squawbetty, hitched  up  "Old Dobbin" 
and  drove  "daoun  to  Ta'nt'n"  with  his  brown 
jug  under  the  seat.  If  it  was  summer,  he  stuck 
antlers  of  indigo  weed  above  his  horse's  ears  to 
keep  off  hungry  flies,  and  the  "yaller  dog  "  trotted 
under  the  wagon  on  which  poultry  may  have  found 

[30] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

a  lodging  for  the  night.  If  it  was  winter,  he  rode 
in  a  pung,  with  moth-eaten  wolf  robe  flying  tails 
over  its  back,  and  the  dog  curled  about  his  mas 
ter's  kip  boots.  During  the  afternoon  he  swapped 
"hosses,"  had  a  trotting-match,  cock-fight,  dog 
fight,  or  raffle;  and  tumbled  about  the  Green  in 
bacchanalian  single  combat  in  settlement  of  old 
scores;  then  rode  home  singing  convivial  songs, 
and  flinging  melon-rinds,  lobster-claws,  or  oyster- 
shells  along  the  way. 

At  Bristol,  the  prosperous  seaport  town,  slaves, 
brought  from  Africa  and  Guinea,  were  sold  by 
slave-traders  coming  down  from  Boston.  A  brisk 
trade  with  the  Carolinas,New  York,  and  the  West 
Indies  was  carried  on  by  Taunton,  Somerset, 
Bristol,  Dartmouth,  and  Yarmouth.  The  build 
ing  of  vessels  was  a  main  source  of  wealth;  sloops 
of  thirty  tons  made  their  way  up  the  rivers  and 
inlets,  with  cargoes  of  wheat  from  the  Hudson, 
rice  and  potatoes  from  the  Carolinas,  and  sugar 
and  molasses  from  the  West  Indies.  When  the 
fierce  "  northeasters  "  rocked  the  houses  and  lashed 
the  surf  along  the  shore,  prayers  went  up  at  many 
firesides  for  the  absent  sailor-boy  at  sea.  Iron  was 
forged  from  bog-ore;  bricks  were  made  from  clay- 
pits  ;  furs  were  a  source  of  revenue  to  every  fanner's 
boy,  who  sent  the  polecat's  skin  across  the  sea,  to 
be  worn  in  France  as  ermine.  Bears  and  wolves 
ranged  the  swamps,  and  the  forests  were  tenanted 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


by  otter,  mink,  wild  cats,  and  raccoons,  as  well  as 
rabbits,  chucks,  and  chipmucks.  As  late  as  1790 
wolves  were  flooded  out  of  a  Raynham  swamp 
by  a  ditch  from  Taunton  River.  Wellfleet  and 
New  Bedford  were  catching  whales,  though  whale 
fishing  was  not  at  its  best  until  the  early  nine 
teenth  century.  The  wealth  of  the  seas  was  always 
a  large  part  of  the  income  of  Old  Colony  settlers. 
Codfish  and  mackerel  were  important  exports; 
"codfish  aristocracy"  came  to  be  a  term  of  re 
proach. 

Taunton  was  settled  from  Somerset  and  Devon 
shire  Counties  of  England.  Some  Welsh  from 
Swansea  had  given  the  old  name  to  their  new 
home.  Kidnapped  Acadians  were  heartlessly  set 
down  near  Lakeville  and  elsewhere  by  Colonel 
Winslow.  In  Bridgewater  were  ironworkers  among 
whom  the  Leonards  were  foremost.  They  were  an 
everyday  lot  of  people,  with  big  families,  plain 
wooden  houses,  well-filled  barns,  and  many  stone 
walls,  which  testify  to  generations  of  lumbago. 
Few  had  means  to  live  without  constant  toil. 
There  was  a  little  aristocracy  —  the  Winslows  at 
Plymouth,  the  Edsons  at  Bridgewater,  the  Leon 
ards  at  Taunton.  Troy — now  the  busy  city  of  Fall 
River  —  was  but  a  scattered  hamlet.  Money  was 
the  rarest  commodity  among  the  earlier  colonists ; 
they  had  not  enough  to  pay  five  hundred  pounds 
for  their  royal  charter.  Once  their  credit  was  saved 

[32] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

by  the  accidental  meeting  of  some  Englishmen 
wrecked  on  the  coast,  who  brought  a  little  ready 
cash.  The  Boston  Puritans,  increased  in  wealth  by 
the  continual  arrival  of  immigrants,  grew  haughty 
and  intolerant  to  the  extent  of  hanging  witches  and 
Quakers;  whereas  the  Plymouth  Pilgrims,  in  the 
humility  which  comes  from  poverty,  welcomed 
Roger  Williams,  exiled  from  Salem  and  Boston, 
and  bore  with  Quaker  peculiarities.  We  may 
remember,  however,  to  its  credit,  that  while  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  was  under  British 
law,  capital  offences  were  fewer  than  in  England, 
and  were  not  so  harshly  punished.  At  Boston, 
men  believed  in  freedom;  but  to  think  and  do 
as  the  Bostonians  did  —  that  was  freedom.  In 
Plymouth  Colony,  they  were  so  poor  that  if  one  be 
haved  "  tolable  well,"  he  could  enjoy  full  liberty. 

Through  these  years  the  Yankee  had  been  work 
ing  out  his  salvation  with  native  shrewdness. 
Opinions  were  hardening  in  his  head  on  the  ques 
tion  of  civil  freedom  and  human  rights.  Ever 
looking  for  a  new  idea,  he  sat  whittling  in  the  barn 
door,  chewing  tobacco  and  pondering  right  and 
wrong,  until  he  concluded  that  the  town  ought  not 
to  be  taxed  to  pay  the  minister,  that  Church  and 
State  were  separate  institutions,  and  that  there 
should  be  no  taxation  without  representation  in 
Parliament. 

Both  Paine  and  Leonard  descended  from  these 

[33] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


stout-hearted  Anglo-Saxon  pioneers,  who,  cut  off 
from  Old-World  influence,  started  anew  upon  their 
interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  and  human  ex 
perience,  retaining  the  kernel  but  discarding  the 
husk  of  English  government,  along  with  what 
seemed  to  them  the  accumulated  wrongs  and 
fallacies  of  Lords  and  Bishops.  Preserving  a 
sacred  reverence  for  their  old  homes,  they  studied 
to  make  this  new  government  simple,  direct,  sub 
stantial,  founded  on  duty,  and  reliance  upon  God. 
The  corner  stone  was  the  Bible.  The  town  meet 
ing  was  developed  and  perfected,  —  a  democracy 
where  rich  and  poor  could  meet  together  in  equal 
ity.  After  a  century  and  a  half  of  brave  labor  in 
pursuit  of  such  ideals,  they  had  almost  forgotten 
England,  and  felt  qualified  to  set  up  for  them 
selves.  "Freedom  to  worship  God"  was  the 
watch-cry  in  1620  at  Plymouth;  "Liberty  and 
Union"  the  motto  on  the  flag  at  Taunton  in 

1775- 
Thomas   Paine,   great-grandfather  of  Robert 

Treat  Paine,  had  been  a  fisherman  on  Cape  Cod, 
and  Thomas  Leonard,  great-grandfather  of  Daniel 
Leonard,  had  dug  valuable  ore  from  the  bosom  of 
the  Old  Colony.  After  the  colony  was  divided 
into  counties,  the  two  men  sat  together  as  Depu 
ties  at  Plymouth  in  1689.  Thomas  Leonard  was 
appointed  a  justice  to  hold  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  in  Bristol  County,  and  James  Paine,  son  of 

[34] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

Thomas  and  grandfather  of  our  Robert,  became  a 
justice  in  Barnstable  County. 

Francis  Baylies,  in  his  scholarly  memoirs,  says 
of  the  Plymouth  Colony  citizens: 

.  .  .  That  curse  of  all  small  and  independent 
communities,  political  ambition,  found  no  place 
amongst  them.  The  higher  offices  were  not  sought, 
but  the  services  of  such  as  were  fit  to  sustain  them 
were  demanded,  as  the  right  of  the  people,  and  they 
were  accepted,  not  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  emolu 
ment,  or  pleasure,  but  from  the  sense  of  duty.  Fear 
ful  of  the  loss  of  reputation,  men  underwent  the 
severe  and  painful  duties  which  such  offices  required. 
Where  there  was  no  strife  for  position,  no  temptation 
in  the  shape  of  emolument,  and  no  passion  for  offi 
cial  distinction,  small  was  the  danger  of  feuds  and 
factions. 

Then,  if  we  find  Thomas,  George,  and  Ephraim 
Leonard,  Thomas  and  James  Paine  holding  high 
office,  we  may  know  they  were  men  "fit  to  sus 
tain  them." 

Democratic  Plymouth  was  much  aggrieved  to 
be  amalgamated  in  1692  with  the  aristocratic 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  This  conjunction  de 
stroyed  the  political  consequence  of  Plymouth, 
and  the  claims  of  the  elder  but  humbler  colony 
were  little  regarded.  At  that  time  the  population 
of  the  Old  Colony  was  13,000,  including  reds, 
whites,  and  blacks;  by  1775,  the  whites  had  in- 

[35  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


creased  to  26,656,  and  there  were  about  600  each 
of  blacks  and  reds. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  the  Old  Col 
ony  was  politically  divided.  The  eastern  county, 
Plymouth,  had  many  sympathizers  with  England, 
as  had  also  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nantucket, 
while  Bristol  County  was  largely  Whig.  Two 
eminent  leaders  of  these  factions  were  our  heroes, 
Leonard  and  Paine,  who  played  their  parts  in 
Taunton  because  of  a  blunder  made  by  Charles  II. 
The  patent  of  1629,  from  the  Plymouth  Council 
of  London  to  the  Plymouth  Colony,  granted  juris 
diction  over  the  land  from  Cape  Cod  to  Narragan- 
sett  River  as  the  western  boundary.  The  charter 
of  1663,  to  Rhode  Island,  from  Charles  II, granted 
title  to  the  land  three  miles  to  the  eastward  of 
Narragansett  River.  Thus  there  was  a  strip  of 
land,  three  miles  wide,  lying  east  of  this  river, 
which  had  been  granted  to  two  colonies.  People 
from  Rhode  Island,  mostly  Baptists,  had  settled 
this  strip,  but  were  under  Plymouth  rule  and  sent 
delegates  to  the  Plymouth  General  Court.  They 
recognized  the  sovereignty  of  Plymouth,  but  the 
royal  confirmation  of  the  title  to  the  land  (granted 
by  the  Plymouth  Council  of  London  to  the  Pil 
grims)  was  given  to  Rhode  Island.  When  Massa 
chusetts  effected  the  coalition  with  Plymouth, 
Rhode  Island  pressed  her  claim  to  the  disputed 
land,  but  was  unsuccessful  at  that  time. 

[36] 


The  Old  Colony  Background 

In  1685,  Plymouth  Colony  had  been  divided, 
like  Gaul,  into  three  parts,  —  one  named  Bristol 
County  after  a  prosperous  seaport  town  in  the 
disputed  territory.  At  this  Bristol,  the  courts 
were  held,  and  thither  went  Ephraim  Leonard, 
James  Paine,  and  other  "common-sense  lawyers" 
to  adjust  local  differences.  The  natives  there 
considered  themselves  a  part  of  Massachusetts, 
but  Rhode  Island  (at  her  best  pinched  for  terri 
tory)  was  jealous,  and  a  dispute  began  about  this 
strip  of  land.  The  two  colonies  could  not  agree, 
and  at  length,  in  1741,  George  II  appointed  a 
commission  of  three  —  one  member  from  the 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  one  from  New  York, 
and  one  from  New  Jersey — to  settle  this  bound 
ary  question.  Massachusetts  had  been  a  way 
ward  child  to  the  mother  government;  her  case 
was  prejudiced,  and  the  commissioners  recognized 
Rhode  Island's  claim  as  valid. 

In  1746,  Rhode  Island  claimed  all  Fall  River 
and  Assonet  as  far  as  Somerset;  her  claim  was 
granted  in  part.  A  line  about  three  miles  east 
of  Narragansett  Bay  was  made  the  boundary. 
Massachusetts,  in  her  indignation,  refused  to  pay 
her  half  of  the  surveying  costs,  which  caused  fur 
ther  litigation.  This  territory  ceded  to  Rhode 
Island  included  Tiverton,  Westport,  and  the 
shire  town  of  Bristol;  hence  the  remaining  Bristol 
County  in  Massachusetts  contained  neither  the 

[37] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


town  of  Bristol  nor  a  court-house.  Taunton,  an 
inland  town,  had  grown  to  be  much  larger  than 
Bristol;  was  thriving,  and  central  in  the  dismem 
bered  county;  and  consequently  became  the  loca 
tion  of  a  new  court-house  in  1747.  Samuel  White, 
the  leading  lawyer  in  Taunton,  was  appointed 
King's  Attorney,  rather  than  Ephraim  or  George 
Leonard,  who  were  old  residents  of  Norton.  When 
this  transfer  was  legally  made,  the  inhabitants 
of  Bristol  were  loath  to  part  with  the  records,  and 
tradition  says  they  were  secured  for  Taunton  by 
strategy  of  George  Leonard  and  other  lawyers. 

After  Taunton  became  the  shire  town,  many 
justices  gathered  there  in  the  days  when  law  was 
growing  in  importance  as  an  attractive  calling  for 
energetic,  clear-headed,  ambitious  young  men. 
Thus  Paine  and  Leonard  were  naturally  drawn 
to  the  court-house,  and  no  one  can  fully  grasp  the 
story  of  the  Old  Colony  who  is  not  familiar  with 
the  career  of  these  two  men  who  focussed  much 
history  in  their  lives,  in  those  stirring  times  when 
questions  of  the  Prerogative  of  the  Crown  versus 
local  rights  were  finally  decided. 


CHAPTER   II 
A  Brahmin  Pedigree 

His  tribe  were  God  Almighty's  gentlemen. 

DRYDEN 

SAFE  behind  the  "clenched  fist  of  Massachu 
setts,"  the  Pilgrim  fathers  boldly  drafted 
the  "Mayflower  Compact"  in  rebuke  of  the 
despotism  of  Church  and  State,  now  left  beyond 
the  seas.  This  Compact  and  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  are  two  preeminent  documents 
which  have  inspired  the  American  people  to  deeds 
of  courage,  freedom,  and  glory.  Among  the  signa 
tures  to  the  covenant  drafted  by  the  liberty-seek 
ing  immigrants  in  Province  town  Harbor  is  that  of 
Stephen  Hopkins.  After  the  Pilgrims  had  founded 
Plymouth,  this  Hopkins  went  with  Edward  Win- 
slow  on  an  exploring  expedition  —  the  first  white 
persons  to  leave  a  description  of  the  Indian  resort 
known  as  Cohannet,  which  lies  in  the  shoulder 
blade  of  the  defiant  Cape.  Cohannet,  a  few  years 
later,  received  from  English  settlers  the  name  of 
Taunton.  Our  Paine,  living  in  Taunton  and  de 
scended  from  Stephen  Hopkins,  was  the  sole  resi 
dent  of  Plymouth  Colony  among  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration.1 

1  From  the  ad  joining  plantation  of  Rhode  Island  came  another 
signer  with  tremulous  autograph  directly  descended  from  the 
same  Stephen  Hopkins. 

[39] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


As  the  Epic  of  the  Leonard  family  is  strongly 
colored  with  iron,  so  through  the  Epic  of  the  Paine 
family  runs  a  distinct  theological  thread.  To  use 
the  phrase  of  Holmes,1  Robert  was  of  "Brahmin 
ancestry."  By  easy  genealogical  leaps,  we  come 
down  his  line  from  one  clergyman  to  another.  His 
father,  Thomas,  was  minister  at  Weymouth;  his 
grandmother  on  his  mother's  side  had  married  two 
ministers,  Mr.  Esterbrook  first,  and  later,  Rev. 
Samuel  Treat.  Paine's  maternal  great-grand 
father,  Rev.  Samuel  Willard,  was  pastor  of  the 
Old  South  Church  in  Boston;  and  was  acting 
president  of  Harvard  College  from  1701  to  1707; 
his  paternal  great-great-grandfather  was  Rev. 
Anthony  Thatcher.  Besides  being  a  scion  of  the 
clergy,  his  pedigree  discloses  an  added  strain  of 
blue  blood  in  the  names  of  Robert  Treat,  Gov 
ernor  of  Connecticut,  and  Major  Willard,  another 
famous  Indian  fighter. 

The  pioneer,  Thomas  Paine,  came  to  America  in 
1622,  bringing  a  son,  Thomas,  then  ten  years  old, 
who  had  lost  an  eye  at  archery  practice  in  Eng 
land.  This  Thomas,  Junior,  lived  on  Cape  Cod 
until  his  ninety-fourth  year,  preserving  his  re 
maining  eye  intact  from  Indian  arrows  through 
King  Philip's  War.  He  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Snow,  whose  wife  was  daughter  of 
Stephen  Hopkins.  The  elder  immigrant,  Thomas, 

1  Elsie  Venner. 

[40] 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


settled  at  Yarmouth,  but  his  one-eyed  son  moved 
to  Eastham,  and  was  parent  of  seven  sons,  from 
one  of  whom,  John,  was  descended  the  wandering 
playwright,  John  Howard  Payne,  who  touched  all 
hearts  with  his  tender  song:  "Be  it  ever  so  hum 
ble,  there's  no  place  like  home." * 

James,  the  sixth  son  of  Thomas  Paine,  went  up 
to  Barnstable,  was  appointed  justice,  accumulated 
property  and  lands,  married  Bethiah  Thatcher, 
and  erected  a  substantial  farmhouse,  carefully 
tarring  the  mortise-holes  against  decay.  This 
ancestral  resort  was  the  boyhood  delight  of  our 
Robert,  who  sailed,  an  unhappy  voyager,  across 
the  bay  from  Boston  each  summer  to  visit  his 
Aunt  Mary  Freeman,  who  had  inherited  the  es 
tate.  Bethiah  was  the  fourth  child  of  Colonel  John 
Thatcher,  and  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Anthony 
Thatcher,  who  holds  a  place  in  history  because  of 
his  frightful  shipwreck  on  an  island  dotting  the 
point  of  Cape  Ann,  and  known  to  this  day  as 
"Thatcher's  Woe."2 

1  This  song-writer  thought  the  name  looked  more  "select" 
spelled  with  a  "y,"  an  opinion  embraced  by  others  of  the 
family.  Among  the  numerous  spellings  of  the  Signer's  name, 
on  bills  contracted  at  the  Continental  Congress,  is  one  sent  to 
"Mr.  Traitpain,"  which  intimates  that  he  was  hailed  by  his 
familiar  cronies  as  "Treat." 

1  The  spar  of  land  was  granted  to  him  by  the  colony  on  ac 
count  of  his  "providential  rescue."  He  had  set  sail  with  his 
family  from  Cape  Cod  for  Cape  Ann  in  1635,  when  a  storm 
drove  the  ship  on  the  rocks.  He  and  his  wife  reached  shore,  but 

[41] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


John  Thatcher,  father  of  Bethiah,  was  married 
in  1 66 1  to  Rebecca  Winslow,  and  while  on  the 
way  to  Falmouth  with  his  bride,  he  stopped  for 
the  night  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Gorham  at 
Barnstable.  During  the  merry  conversation  with 
the  newly-married  couple  (so  the  story  goes),  a 
baby  girl,  a  few  days  old,  was  introduced,  and  the 
night  of  her  birth  mentioned  to  Mr.  Thatcher, 
who  observed  that  it  was  on  the  very  night  he  was 
married.  Taking  the  infant  in  his  arms,  he  pre 
sented  her  to  his  bride,  saying:  "Here,  my  dear,  is 
a  little  lady  born  on  the  same  night  we  were  mar 
ried;  I  wish  you  would  kiss  her,  for  I  intend  to  have 
her  for  my  second  wife."  "I  will,  my  dear,  but 
I  hope  it  will  be  long  before  your  intention  is  ful 
filled."  Then,  taking  the  babe,  the  bride  kissed  it 
heartily  and  returned  it  to  the  nurse's  hands.  The 
jesting  prediction  was  eventually  verified.  Mr. 
Thatcher's  wife  died,  and  the  child,  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three,  actually  became  his  second 
wife. 

For  a  century,  this  family  knew  the  perils  and 
privations  of  Cape  Cod  life.  The  descendants  of 
Thomas  Paine  intermarried  also  with  the  Doane, 
Freeman,  Sparrow,  Hopkins,  and  Winslow  fami 
lies,  good,  sturdy  folk,  long  identified  with  the 

their  children  were  drowned  before  their  eyes.  Later  children 
came  and  their  granddaughter  was  grandmother  to  Robert,  the 
Signer. 

[42] 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


Cape,  the  fish-hook  shape  of  which  symbolized  the 
profession  of  many  of  its  residents.  The  greatest 
of  all  hunting  sports — whale-chasing  —  supplied, 
sooner  or  later,  some  exciting  adventure  to  almost 
every  native  of  Cape  Cod.  Concerning  James 
Paine,  his  son  Thomas  wrote  of  a  whaling  expedi 
tion  off  Cape  Cod  as  follows: 

November,  1717.  My  father,  being  in  a  whale 
bote,  was  struck  immediately  by  a  whale  on  the  neck 
and  head,  and  the  bote  being  stove,  he  was  about 
drowned  before  any  one  could  find  him,  but  we 
afterward  carried  him  home  and  he  is  wonderfully 
recovered. 

For  years  Cape  Cod  was  the  mother  of  sea- 
captains.  Skippers  from  Harwich,  Truro,  Dennis, 
and  Barnstable  were  spinning  yarns  and  "splicing 
the  main  brace"  in  every  port  of  the  globe.  On 
the  decks  of  many  a  fleet  schooner  was  a  keen-eyed 
pilot  from  those  sandy  shores.  These  captains 
followed  the  sea  through  the  summer,  setting  lob 
ster  pots  and  "smelling"  for  blue-fish,  and  went 
courting  in  the  snug  winter.  The  women,  with 
eyes  narrowed  and  dim  from  long  search  of  the 
offing,  set  up  flapping  coats  and  sails  on  posts 
and  waved  red  handkerchiefs,  as  signals  to  their 
jackies  passing  by  offshore. 

Thomas,  son  of  James,  was  born  at  Barnstable 
in  1694.  There  he  lived  until  he  went  up  to  Har 
vard  College  for  the  class  of  1717,  destined,  like 

[43] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


most  of  his  classmates,  to  the  ministry.  Upon  his 
appearance  at  Harvard,  he  was  a  thoroughbred 
Cape  Cod  Yankee,  salt  and  sandy.  Followers  of 
the  sea  study  the  moon,  stars,  tides,  and  weather- 
breeding  signs.  So  we  are  not  surprised  to  find 
this  studious  Thomas  printing  almanacs  "of  celes 
tial  motions,  aspects,  eclipses,  etc.,"  for  the  years 
1718  and  1719,  which  were  a  joy  to  the  embryo 
"Poor  Richard,"  then  a  young,  inquisitive  boy  in 
his  brother's  printing-shop  at  Boston.1 

Thomas  Paine  studied  with  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Shaw,  of  Harwich,  attended  the  Thursday  Lec 
tures  in  Boston  for  a  couple  of  years,  preached 
itinerantly,  and  was  shortly  ordained  as  minister 
at  Weymouth  at  ninety  pounds  a  year,  with  a  par 
sonage  and  forty  acres  of  land  as  perquisite.  In 
1721,  he  married  the  delicately  beautiful  daughter 
of  Rev.  Samuel  Treat,  of  Eastham,  then  living  with 
her  widowed  mother  in  Boston.  She  was  just 
"sweet  sixteen"  when  a  mounted  troop  escorted 
the  bridal  party  out  to  the  parsonage  at  Wey 
mouth,  where  Rev.  Peter  Thatcher  performed  the 
wedding  ceremony.  They  lived  a  few  years  in  the 
parsonage  at  Weymouth,  but  the  wife  and  mother 

1  One  announces  the  times  for  holding  the  courts,  the  spring 
tides  and  prophetic  aspects  of  the  weather;  foretells  four  in 
visible  eclipses;  but  makes  no  prediction  of  the  great  earthquake 
of  1725.  On  the  back  page  is  a  statement  of  reasons  why  the 
light  of  the  moon  is  so  weak  that  it  cannot,  even  by  a  burning- 
glass,  be  brought  to  afford  the  least  degree  of  heat. 

[44] 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


was  semi-invalid,  and  the  place  did  not  prove 
salubrious.  She  returned  to  Boston,  where  she 
died  October  17,  1747.  Her  husband  continued 
to  preach  awhile  in  Weymouth,  until  his  inher 
ited  property  led  him  into  trade.  He  had  come 
into  a  good  estate,  some  £7000,  by  the  death  of 
father,  brother-in-law,  and  wife.  General  merchan 
dise  became  his  business.  He  bought  and  sold 
all  sorts  of  commodities,  especially  West  India 
goods,  then  an  eminently  respectable  calling. 
After  his  daughter  Abigail  married  Joseph  Green- 
leaf,  Father  Paine's  vessels  took  rope,  staves, 
salt-fish,  brick,  and  meal  to  Havana,  returning 
with  cargoes  of  molasses  and  sugar  to  be  converted 
into  rum  by  the  new  son-in-law  in  his  distillery. 
Thomas  Paine  was  a  heavy  loser  in  the  Land  Bank 
of  1740,  suppressed  by  the  British  Government. 
During  the  French  War  of  1745,  some  of  his  ves 
sels  were  captured  by  pirates.  In  1749,  when  his 
fortunes  were  in  a  precarious  condition,  he  deeded 
his  slave  "Cato"  (for  slavery  did  not  shock  the 
moral  sense  even  of  ministers)  to  his  daughter 
Abigail,  and  his  books,  silver  plate,  and  household 
furniture  to  his  three  children.  Afterward  he 
established  an  agency  in  Halifax.  But  his  health 
broke  down  and  he  went  on  a  long  sea-voyage. 
When  his  business  affairs  became  involved  in  liti 
gation,  he  concluded  to  become  a  lawyer,  advising 
his  son  to  do  likewise,  that  they  might  keep  out  of 

[45] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  courts  and  protect  their  remaining  property. 
Their  legal  preceptor  was  Benjamin  Pratt,  of 
Boston,  later  Chief  Justice  of  New  York.  Father 
and  son,  sharpening  their  talons  on  each  other, 
pored  over  the  English  law-books  and  held  mock 
arguments  on  winter  evenings.  Improvident  as 
a  merchant,  in  1756  Thomas  Paine's  estate  was 
finally  compounded.  After  the  breaking-up  of  his 
home  upon  the  death  of  wife  and  mother-in-law, 
the  marriage  of  Abigail,  and  the  departure  of  his 
son,  Robert,  to  teach  at  Lunenburg,  he  dwelt  alter 
nately  in  Halifax  and  with  his  married  daughter 
at  Germantown,  in  Quincy,  where  he  died  in  1757. 
On  the  maternal  side,  Paine,  the  Signer,  came 
of  a  high-born  family.  His  great-grandfather, 
Robert  Treat,  was  Governor  of  Connecticut.  His 
epitaph,  copied  by  his  namesake  into  a  daybook, 
reads : 

Palmam  qui  meruit  ferat. 

Here  lieth  the  body  of  Robert  Treat,  Esq.,  who 
faithfully  served  this  colony  in  the  post  of  governor 
and  deputy  governor  for  near  the  space  of  thirty 
years,  and  at  the  age  of  fourscore  and  eight  exchanged 
this  life  for  a  better.  July  12  anno  Domino  1710. 

Major  Robert  Treat  had  marched  up  to  North- 
field  in  1676,  and  found  his  former  comrades  mas 
sacred  by  Indians  and  their  heads  gruesomely 

[46] 


c 


PURITAN  GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


mounted  upon  poles  along  his  advance.  A 
spicy  story  of  his  courtship  is  preserved.  When 
the  major  went  visiting  his  friend,  Squire  Tapp, 
of  Millis,  he  found  the  apple  of  his  eye  in  the  rosy- 
cheeked  daughter,  Jane,  and  presently  was  trotting 
her  upon  his  knee.  Jane  coyly  observed,  "I'd 
rather  be  treated  than  trotted."  A  hearty  laugh 
spread  through  the  family  circle;  and  so  they  were 
married  and  lived  happy  ever  after,  —  at  least  if 
children  could  make  them  so,  for  twenty-one,  all 
told,  were  born  to  them.  The  first  of  the  twenty- 
one  was  Rev.  Samuel  Treat,  who  became  one  of 
the  stalwart  men  of  Cape  Cod.  Soon  after  grad 
uating  from  Harvard  in  1669,  he  settled  as  minis 
ter  of  the  church  at  Eastham,  of  which  Thomas 
Prince,  the  Governor,  was  the  leading  spirit.  In 
1662,  the  town  agreed  that  part  of  every  whale 
cast  ashore  should  be  appropriated  for  the  minis 
try,  "thus  leaving,"  as  Thoreau  remarked,  "the 
support  of  the  ministers  to  Providence,  whose 
servants  they  are,  and  who  alone  rules  the  storms, 
for  when  few  whales  were  cast  up,  they  might  sus 
pect  that  their  worship  was  not  acceptable."  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Treat  must  have  sat  upon  the  cliffs  and 
watched  the  strand  with  some  anxiety.1 

1  Thoreau  also  says  of  Treat:  "He  was  not  one  of  those  who, 
by  giving  up  or  explaining  away,  becomes  like  a  porcupine  dis 
armed  of  his  quills;  but  a  consistent  Calvinist,  who  can  dart  out 
his  quills  at  a  distance  and  courageously  defend  himself." 

[47] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


A  contemporary  writer  says  that  "his  voice 
could  be  heard  roaring  above  the  sobs  of  hysterical 
women,  and  the  howling  winds,  stirring  up  an 
awakening  and  alarm."  Hysteric  fits  were  very 
common  on  Sunday  in  the  time  of  divine  service. 
When  one  woman  was  so  affected,  others  generally 
sympathized  with  her,  and  the  congregation  was 
thrown  into  violent  confusion.  We  may  gather 
something  of  Treat's  spiritual  comfort  in  the  fol 
lowing  selection  from  his  sermons : 


Text:  Luke  xvi,  23 :  Thou  must  go  ere  long  to  the 
bottomless  pit.  Hell  hath  enlarged  himself  and  is 
ready  to  receive  thee.  There  is  room  enough  for  thy 
entertainment.  Consider  thou  art  going  to  a  place 
prepared  by  God  on  purpose  to  exalt  his  justice  in  a 
place  made  for  no  other  purpose  than  torments.  Hell 
is  God's  house  of  correction,  and  remember  that  God 
doeth  all  things  like  himself.  When  God  would  show 
his  justice,  and  the  might  of  his  wrath,  he  makes  a 
hell  in  which  it  shall  indeed  appear  to  purpose.  Woe 
to  thy  soul,  when  thou  shalt  be  set  up  as  a  butt  for 
the  arrows  of  the  Almighty. 

Sinner,  I  beseech  thee  realize  the  truth  of  these 
things.  Do  not  go  about  to  dream  that  this  is  deroga 
tory  to  God's  mercy  and  nothing  but  a  vain  fable  to 
scare  children  out  of  their  wits  withal.  God  can  be 
merciful,  though  he  makes  thee  miserable.  He  shall 
have  monuments  enough  of  that  precious  attribute, 
shining  like  stars  in  that  place  of  glory,  and  singing 

[48] 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


eternal  hallelujahs  to  the  praise  of  Him  that  redeemed 
them;  though  to  exalt  the  power  of  his  justice,  he 
damns  sinners  heaps  upon  heaps. 

Consider,  God  himself  shall  be  the  principal  agent 
in  thy  misery,  his  breath  is  the  bellows  that  blows  up 
the  flames  of  hell  forever;  and  if  he  punish  thee,  if  he 
meet  thee  in  his  fury,  he  will  not  meet  thee  as  a  man, 
he  will  give  thee  an  omnipotent  blow. 

Some  think  sinning  ends  with  this  life;  but  it  is  a 
mistake.  The  creature  is  held  under  an  everlasting 
law;  the  damned  increase  in  sin  and  hell.  Possibly 
the  mention  of  this  may  please  thee,  but  remember 
that  there  shall  be  no  pleasant  sins  there,  no  eat 
ing,  singing,  dancing,  drinking,  wanton  dalliance,  and 
drinking  stolen  waters;  but  damned  sins,  bitter  hell 
ish  sins,  sins  exasperated  by  torments,  cursing  God, 
spite,  rage  and  blasphemy,  the  guilt  of  all  thy  sins 
shall  be  laid  upon  thy  soul  and  be  made  so  many 
heaps  of  fuel. 

Samuel  Treat  had  settled  at  Eastham  in  1672, 
and  was  soon  converting  Indians  as  well  as  whites. 
In  this  he  was  assisted  by  the  General  Court  which 
passed  a  law,  in  1685,  to  inflict  corporal  punish 
ment  on  all  persons  who  denied  the  Scriptures. 
He  translated  his  confession  of  faith  into  the  Nau- 
set  language.  There  were  two  thousand  Indians 
in  his  pastoral  charge,  whom  he  visited  in  their 
huts,  readily  conversing  with  them  in  the  native 
tongue.  He  died  during  the  great  snow-fall  of 

[49] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


February,  1717. 1  Treat's  burial  was  a  mortuary 
tableau.  The  deep  snow  had  swirled  around  the 
parsonage,  towering  in  lofty  drifts.  An  arch 
way  in  the  snow  was  dug  on  the  road  between 
the  house  and  the  burial-ground;  through  this, 
Indians,  who  had  loved  him  in  life,  bore  him  to  his 
last  resting-place  in  the  God's  Acre  on  the  hillside, 
within  sound  of  the  eternal  requiem  of  the  sea.2 

The  wife  of  Samuel  Treat  was  Eunice,  daughter 
of  Rev.  Samuel  Willard.  The  Willards  had  settled 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Concord,  Lancaster,  and 
Groton.  Major  Simon  Willard,  son  of  Jos i ah,  was, 
like  Major  Treat,  a  hero  in  the  old  Indian  wars, 
In  1676,  at  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten,  he  made 
a  thirty-mile  dash  from  Lancaster,  arriving  at 
Brookfield  in  time  to  save  the  town  from  the  red 
skins.  The  son  of  this  Indian  fighter  was  Samuel 
Willard,  pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church.  In  1701, 
the  General  Court  elected  him  acting  president  of 
Harvard  College  to  succeed  Increase  Mather,  who 
declined  to  make  a  residence  in  Cambridge,  pre 
ferring  to  stay  in  the  thick  of  theological  frays  at 
Boston.  Willard's  successive  wives  had  fine  Bibli- 

1  At  this  time  Richard  Williams,  the  first  white  child  born 
in  Taunton,  died,  remaining  three  weeks  unburied  because  of 
the  overwhelming  storm. 

2  In  the  company  of  those  gathered  at  Mr.  Treat's  funeral 
was  the  son  of  a  woman  who  had  been  fined  ten  shillings  for 
railing  at  him,  the  minister.     Nature  has  a  way  of  shaming 
our  animosities  —  her  son  later  married  Treat's  daughter. 

[50] 


A  Brahmin  Pedigree 


cal  names,  Abigail  (wife  of  Nabal),  and  Eunice 
(mother  of  Timothy).  A  cut  in  the  hand  while 
opening  oysters  resulted  in  lockjaw  of  which  he 
died  in  1707. 

After  his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
Willard,  Samuel  Treat  was  sometimes  invited 
to  preach  in  his  father-in-law's  pulpit.  Samuel 
Willard  had  a  graceful  delivery  and  dramatic 
voice,  and  his  sermons  display  strength  of  thought 
and  energy  of  language.  In  consequence,  he  was 
generally  admired.  Mr.  Treat,  having  preached 
one  of  his  best  sermons  to  the  congregation  of  his 
father-in-law  in  his  usual  unhappy  manner,  excited 
adverse  comment  and  a  committee  waited  upon 
Mr.  Willard  to  beg  that  Mr.  Treat  (a  worthy, 
pious  man,  but  a  wretched  preacher)  might  never 
be  invited  to  his  pulpit  again.  Willard  quietly 
went  to  his  son-in-law,  and  borrowed  the  discourse, 
which  he  delivered  to  his  people  a  few  weeks  later. 
The  deacons  thanked  Mr.  Willard  and  requested 
copies  for  the  press.  "See  the  difference,"  they 
cried,  "between  yourself  and  your  son-in-law. 
You  have  preached  a  sermon  on  the  same  text  as 
Mr.  Treat,  but  while  his  was  contemptible,  yours 
was  excellent." 

With  this  brief  outline  of  his  lineage,  we  wel 
come  our  hero  himself.  Two  sons  had  come  to 
Rev.  Thomas  Paine,  only  to  die  in  a  few  days. 
Then  one  fine  spring  morning  in  1731,  he  took 

[51  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


another  newly-born  child  down  School  Street  to 
the  Old  South  Church,  praying  that  this  boy 
might  be  spared.  As  the  child  was  dandled  in  his 
father's  arms,  crying  for  liberty  at  the  top  of  his 
lungs,  Parson  Prince  laid  his  christening  hand  on 
the  infant  patriot,  in  the  same  church  in  which, 
a  quarter  of  a  century  before,  Ben  Franklin  had 
been  christened  in  the  arms  of  his  father,  Josiah. 


CHAPTER   III 
Land  of  the  Leonards 

Crowns  are  for  the  valiant  —  sceptres  for  the  bold, 
Thrones  and  powers  for  mighty  men  who  dare  to  take  and  hold. 
"Nay,"  said  the  Baron,  kneeling  in  his  hall, 
"But  Iron  —  cold  iron  —  is  master  of  them  all." 

KIPLING. 

A  SMALL  iron  pot,  capable  of  containing 
about  one  quart"  was  the  initial  output  of 
the  iron  industry  in  America.  This  humble 
ancestor  of  the  American  Steel  Trust  was  cast  at  a 
foundry  on  Saugus  River,  near  Lynn,  before  1650, 
and  is  still  in  existence,  heavy  enough  to  make 
three  in  the  hands  of  a  modern  founder.  The 
power  behind  the  pot  was  no  less  a  personage  than 
John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  who  furnished  the  "influence" 
which  started  the  forge  at  "Hammersmith,"  as 
they  named  the  location  near  Saugus  Centre, 
where  mounds  of  slag  and  scoria  may  still  be  seen. 
There  had  been  a  discovery  of  iron,  in  1585,  on 
Roanoke  Island,  and  the  Jamestown  settlers  sent 
over  to  England,  in  1608,  enough  "iron  oare"  to 
make  seventeen  tons  of  metal,  worth  four  pounds 
per  ton.  Soon  expert  workmen  were  brought  from 
England,  to  establish  a  "bloomery,"  but  an 
Indian  massacre  terminated  the  enterprise. 
In  a  Lynn  account-book  of  1651  is  this  entry: 

[53] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


James  Leonnarde,  15  days  worke  about  finnerey 
chimneye  and  other  worke  in  ye  forge,  1:13:0.  To 
ditto  Leonnarde  for  dressing  his  bellows  3  times, 
i  :io:  o. 

This  James  Leonard  is  the  real  father  of  our 
American  iron  industry,  since  he  persevered  in 
that  calling,  and  his  foundries  were  perpetuated 
for  centuries.  He  did  not  remain  long  at  Saugus. 
Adam  Hawkes,  from  whose  bog  the  ore  was  ex 
tracted,  was  litigious.  His  suits  for  flowage  of  his 
lands  put  an  end  to  the  Lynn  undertaking.  James 
and  Henry  Leonard  then  went  to  Braintree,  still 
in  the  service  of  Winthrop.1  These  two  brothers 
had  left  Pontypool,  Wales,  for  America,  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  bringing 
with  them  a  boy,  Thomas,  son  of  James,  and  leav 
ing  their  ironworks  at  home  plastered  with  mort 
gages.  Seeking  new  opportunity  in  a  new  coun 
try,  they  brought  a  knowledge  of  English  farming 
and  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  of  ironmaking.  From 
Braintree  they  explored  the  Old  Colony,  where 
they  found  the  inhabitants  extracting  a  scanty 
living  from  the  niggardly  soil.  With  their  spades, 
tongs,  and  hammers  they  went  up  and  down  the 
streams  testing  the  water  for  chalybeate  signs, 
while  little  Thomas  cut  a  birch  sapling  and 
dropped  a  line  for  trout.  Far-seeing  men  were 

1  Henry  later  removed  to  New  Jersey. 

[54] 


DEATH. 


ELEGY  in  Memory  of  the  Worihipful 


lajor  Thomas  Leonard  Efq. 

Of  Tannin  in  Ntu.'-E*g!j*<t ;  Who  departed  this  Life  on  the  141!].  Day  of  ttmmltr, 
Anne  D,minr  1713.     In  the  73d.  Year  of  his  Age. 


WE  do  aficmblc  that  a  Funeral 
With  grief  and    fbrrow    we   may 
Iblcmnizc, 

iierc.it  'tis  proper,  that  to  mind  we  call 
The  Grcarncls  of  our  Lofs ;  the  qualities 
And  LTcfulncls  of  our  dcccall-d  Friend, 
VChofc  Pilgrimage  on  Earth  is  at  an  end. 

Enry  and  Malice  muft  be  reigning  Vices 

In  thole  who  will  not  bear  to  hear  his  Praifc ; 
FoSpc.ik  well  of  thcDcad.truc  Grace advifcs; 
~~  'liBalcnefs  thatRcproach  on  luch  doth  raitc. 
Such  juftly  may  expect  Retaliation 
Who  liobcgrutch  toothersCommendation. 

fho'  I  pretend  no  skill  in  Poetry, 

Yet  will  adventure  once  to  Mourn  in  Vcrfc 
father  than  lucha  Worthy,dcad  Ihould  ly 
Without  a  due  Encomium  on  his  Hcrtc  : 
Grief  will  find  Vent,  &  Fulncls  of  atfc&ion 
How  to  cxprcls  our  Iclvcs  will  give  di- 
( rctftion. 

Let's  firfl  rcmark,That  GOD  lliould  him  incline 

In's  early  days  to  try  with  all  his  might 
cor  skill  to  Write  &  Cypher,   in  a  time 
•  When  Other 7«*/4j  {udiLejrKiH^dtd  but  flight  j 
Yet  he  rcdccm'vi  liis  Time  mod  carefully 
And  made  insLcarmng,good  proficiency. 

G00  I>UlVd  his  Care  &  Painj,  that  he  attain  d 
.   IVith  little  help  from  others,  ulcful  skill 
:  iic  ouMlionc  others,  that  he  gaind 

•icnt  in  the  Town,  Eftccm,  good  Wil! ; 
From  meaner  Pofts  made  gradual  Alccnc 
ToOthccsofTruft,  Care  and  Moment. 

M  he  pra£ifcd  his  skill 
-JineTime  and  Money  in  the  Cure 

nd  "Wounded,  with  companion  flill. 
his  did  the  Love  of  all  to  him  procure^ 
Many  Confcls,  his  kindncfs  did  abound 
-Ipfulnets  unto  ins  Neighbours  round. 


For  many  Years,  the  chief  Affairs  in  Town 

Prudential,  he  manag'd  carefully 
Wi:h  good  Acceptance,  ur.to  his  Renown 
Perform 'd  his  Truft  in  all  things  faithfully ; 
So  that  the  Govcrnour  did  him  prefer 
In  Military  Trufts  a. part  to  bear  ; 

And  in  the  Civil  Government  he  flood 

CommifTioncd,  to  Punifli  Vice  and  Sin, 
For  many  Years ;  His  Care  and  Prudence  good 
And.Faithfulnefs  were  well  difplay'd  therein. 
He  always  Ihcw'd  Pacifick  dilpofition, 
Trying  to  end  a!!  jirrs  by  Compofition. 

He  gave  himfelf  to  GOD  in's  Youthful  days 

Profcl's'd  Religion  ;  and  Ins  Family 
Were  well  Inftru&cd,  Pray'd  with  all  always 
His  good  Example  was  before  thsir  Eye. 
His  Pray'rs  were  hcarc!,  his  Houlc  (the 

Lord  be  Prais'u  ) 
With  hopeful  numerous  OlTspring  GOD 
hath  raisd. 

GOD  grant  that  all  of  his  Poftcriry 

May  imitate  his  Virtues,  and  may  lay 
His  GOD  (hall  be  our  GOD,   Him  faithfully 
We  I  bcnc  until  cur  Lait  :.nd  D\  ing  day: 
And  never  will  our  Fathers  GOD  torlikc  ; 
But  for  our  GOD  finccrcly  will  Him  take. 

[His  famous  crowning  work  was  His  great  Care 

Ti:at  GoipcI-Worihip,  Gofpd-Mioi&iy 
In  Htm*,  Dtf};t»n,  Other  Places  near 
On  ^coc  Foundations  might  Sctlcd  be  : 
He  ioy  d  in  Hope,  that  now  were  laid 

foundations 
Of  Picry  for  many  Generations. 


fi?.'.1*t 
SAMUEL  DANTORTH. 


ELEGY  OF   THOMAS    LEONARD,    1713 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


they!  Beneath  the  surface  they  detected  traces  of 
iron;  and  quietly  thought, "  Let  the  farmers  plough 
the  meadows ;  we  will  dig  into  the  neglected  slashes 
and  find  wealth  the  natives  dream  not  of." 

In  the  records  of  Taunton,  October  21,  1652,  it 
appears  that  the  town  made  a  contract  with  these 
Leonards  and  a  certain  Ralph  Russell,  to  "set  up  a 
Bloomery  Work  on  the  Two  Mile  River."  A  stock 
company  was  soon  formed.  The  subscribers  paid 
in  from  five  to  twenty  pounds  apiece.  Among  the 
shareholders  in  this  earliest  stock  company  of 
Taunton  are  listed  Elizabeth  Pole,  who  bought 
Taunton  for  a  peck  of  beans,  and  her  sister,  Jane, 
as  well  as  nearly  all  the  leading  heads  of  families. 
Other  distinguished  stockholders  from  distant 
towns  were  later  added ;  which  goes  to  show  that 
iron  stocks  were  considered  sound  family  invest 
ments  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

The  boy  Thomas,  under  his  father's  teaching, 
grew  to  be  the  Tubal-Cain  of  this  locality. 

"  Amid  the  forge's  clangor,  and  the  flames 
Sparkling  from  smitten  anvils,  boldly  wrought 

A  bright-eyed  boy. 
His  hand  was  hard  with  toil, 

But  his  clear  mind  o'er  field  of  thought  roamed  wide, 
Gathering  the  fruits  of  knowledge.  Thus  he  grew, 
Winning  the  true  nobility  that  waits 
On  honest  labor." 

[ss } 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Thomas  Leonard  established  forges  and  smithies 
in  various  neighborhoods.  It  required  several 
hundred  bushels  of  charcoal  and  two  weeks' 
time  to  heat  the  furnace  hot  enough  to  smelt  the 
ore.  When  started,  the  furnace  could  not  be 
stopped  conveniently  until  the  blast  of  five  or 
six  months  was  completed.  The  workmen,  in 
leather  breeches,  knew  no  regular  week  days  or 
Sundays,  but  spent  their  time  alternately  at  the 
furnaces  and  in  the  cook-shed,  where  tables  were 
set  day  and  night,  and  the  cook,  with  big  kettle 
full  of  meat  and  vegetables  simmering  upon  the 
fire,  was  constantly  at  hand.  In  1727,  an  estab 
lishment  for  making  iron  pots  and  kettles  was 
built  in  East  Taunton  by  a  joint-stock  company. 
One  of  the  Leonards  set  up  a  forge  upon  the 
Taunton  Mill  Stream.  When  it  was  finished,  Cap 
tain  Leonard  remarked,  "Now  let  us  hope  well  of 
it;  and  what  shall  we  name  it?"  "Why  not  call  it 
Hopewell  Forge?"  said  a  bystander;  —  the  word 
clung  and  is  still  a  local  name. 

Iron  was  long  used  as  a  medium  of  exchange. 
The  bloomery  was  a  clearing-house  when  trade 
was  not  made  by  customary  barter.  Thus  the 
Leonards  became  the  earliest  bankers,  as  well 
as  hardware  dealers,  in  the  country.  The  minis 
ter,  at  first  paid  in  provisions,  later  received  part 
of  his  stipend  in  iron,  as  shown  by  the  record  of 
a  Raynham  town  meeting,  September  2,  1751: 

[  56] 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


It  was  put  to  a  vote  whether  or  no  the  town  will 
make  an  addition  to  the  salary  of  Rev.  John  Wales 
for  the  present  year,  —  that  is,  to  make  in  the  whole 
£4coold  tenor ;  one-third  to  be  paid  in  good  merchant 
able  bar-iron  at  £9  per  cwt.,  the  other  two-thirds 
in  Indian  corn  at  2Os.  per  bushel,  rye  at  30^.,  beef  at 
I  Sd.  per  lb.,  and  pork  at  2s.  6d.'}  which  sum  being 
reduced  to  lawful  money  is  £53  Sd. 

The  payment  for  an  ox  bought  of  Thomas  Wil 
liams  by  Nathaniel  Smith  is  transacted  in  this 
wise: 

Nathaniel  Smith,  this  is  to  desire  you  to  pay  to 
my  mother  Williams,  three  hundred  &  half  a  qr.  of 
iron  which  is  part  of  ye  price  of  ye  ox  which  you 
bought  of  me. 

This  is  uniquely  endorsed  as  follows: 

TAUNTON  ye  i6th  of  October,  1693. 

Capt.  Leonard,  I  pray  be  pleased  to  pay  to  old 
mother  Williams  3  hundred  &  half  a  quarter  of  iron. 

NATHANIEL  SMITH. 

This  product  was  so  precious  that  when  divi 
dends  of  the  company  were  paid  in  iron,  Governor 
Leverett  preferred  to  have  his  dividend  hauled 
across  country  in  ox-teams  to  Plymouth,  that  it 
might  be  more  safely  shipped  to  Boston,  rather 
than  to  take  the  chance  of  rounding  Cape  Cod  in 
shallops. 

[57] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  Leonards  became  powerful  by  iron  —  Vul- 
cans  among  their  fellows.  Wherever  they  found 
bog-ore,  —  in  "Scadding's  Moire,"  Stony  Brook 
Meadows,  Chartley,  Middleboro,  or  Littleworth 
Brook,  —  the  ever-increasing  family  dammed 
the  streams,  made  their  charcoal,1  set  up  their 
bloomeries,  and  dug  over  the  soil  impregnated 
to  this  day  with  iron.  When  ore  grew  scarce  in 
the  swales  and  meadows,  they  went  out  in  boats, 
and  with  tongs  brought  it  up  from  the  slimy  bot 
toms  of  Winnecunnett,  Nippenickett,  and  Assa- 
wampsett  ponds.  After  the  smelting  process 
the  pigs  of  iron  were  rolled  into  bars  and  sheets, 
then  forged  into  axes,  anchors,  shovels,  kettles, 
fire-dogs,  ox-shoes,  tires,  chains,  nails,  hammers, 
and  such  rude  farm  implements  as  were  adequate 
to  the  hand-made,  rough-hewn  age  in  which  they 
lived.  Wherever  they  placed  their  "hearths," 
one  of  the  family  located.  So  thoroughly  identi 
fied  were  they  with  this  industry  that  a  house 
hold  proverb  arose:  "Wherever  you  find  a  forge, 
there  you  will  find  a  Leonard." 

The  prophet  Benner  claimed  that  the  mate 
rial  greatness  of  America  is  founded  on  pig-iron 
and  pork.  Iron  rails,  "iron  horses,"  iron  ships, 
iron  pipes  in  the  ground,  iron  girders  for  build 
ing,  and  iron  stoves,  attest  the  far-sightedness  of 
these  pioneer  Leonards.  It  is  natural  that  their 

1  Anthracite  coal  was  not  in  use  until  after  the  Revolution. 

[58] 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


descendants  should  plan  to  erect  a  fitting  me 
morial  to  them  on  Taunton  Green  amid  the 
scenes  of  their  early  labors.  Although  the  Leon 
ards,  as  early  as  the  Revolution,  had  learned  to 
temper  iron  into  steel,  yet  from  bog-ore  and  wood- 
fed  furnaces  to  Pennsylvania  coal-mines  and  the 
chrome  steel  process,  with  its  air-blasts  and  coke- 
fed  fires,  is  a  matter  of  two  centuries.1 

The  Leonards  were  like  Bismarck's  men,  of 
Blut  und  Eisen.  The  iron  was  absorbed  into  their 
blood.  They  were  a  sturdy,  strong-fibred,  and 
gristly  clan.  There  are  probably  to-day  more  of 
their  descendants  in  the  Old  Colony  than  of  any 
other  family.  They  and  their  posterity  were  of 
sound,  efficient  stock,  well  suited  to  bear  the 
climate  and  endure  all  other  hardships;  marry 
ing  early  in  life,  and  apparently  forgetting,  what 
Hawthorne  observed  in  a  gloomy  mood,  "That 
for  every  birth  there  must  be  a  funeral."  One 
member  of  the  family  boasted  nineteen  children; 
but  even  so,  falling  short  by  two  of  the  "bumper 
crop"  among  the  Paines.  Dwelling  in  the  same 
spot  for  generations,  they  became  rooted  in  the 
soil.  Zephaniah  built  a  castellated  mansion  near 
his  forge  at  Raynham,  in  1750.  King  Philip,  in 
his  wanderings  up  and  down  his  little  kingdom, 

1  America  stands  for  the  iron  age  as  compared  with  the  marble 
age  of  Greece.  Centuries  hence  its  rusty  ruins  may  put  it  at  a 
disadvantage  in  the  poet  mind. 

[59] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


often  stopped  at  this  forge  of  the  Leonards  (with 
whom  he  was  always  a  true  friend)  to  obtain  iron 
points  for  his  arrows;  and  when  the  white  man 
had  taken  the  sachem's  head,  it  was  in  the  cellar 
of  this  Leonard  mansion  that  the  gory  relic  found 
a  transient  sepulchre. 

Perez  Fobes,  of  Raynham,  in  1793  noted  that 
longevity,  promotion  to  public  office,  and  a  firm 
attachment  to  the  iron  industry  were  the  remark 
able  facts  associated  with  the  Leonard  family. 
Thomas  Leonard,  the  boy  emigrant  who  came  to 
America  clinging  to  Uncle  Henry's  finger,  grew 
up  to  be  a  doctor,  justice,  major  of  battalion, 
deacon,  town  clerk,  and  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas.  Had  there  been  any  other  de 
sirable  positions,  he  would  have  held  them,  for 
every  office  was  his  for  the  asking.  The  energy 
and  business  tact  of  one  man  gives  life  and  vital 
ity  to  a  whole  neighborhood  and  he  becomes 
" General  Manager"  by  divine  right.  Every  com 
munity  will  produce  spontaneously  a  captain  of 
industry  whose  mission  is  the  regimentation  of  un 
organized  labor.  Men  of  strong  convictions  and 
personalities  unconsciously  influence  the  thought 
and  action  of  their  kind.  Such  a  positive  force 
were  the  Leonards. 

Upon  the  death  of  Thomas  Leonard  in  1713,  an 
elaborate  elegiac  poem  was  printed  by  the  editor 
of  the  Boston  "  News-Letter."  The  son  of  Thomas 

[  60  1 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


was  known  as  "Major  George."  His  mansion, 
suggestive  of  wide-hearted  hospitality,  is  stand 
ing  at  Chartley;  one  room  is  twenty-five  feet 
square,  with  cupboards  in  the  double  walls  be 
tween  the  deep-seated  windows.  The  fireplace 
was  so  large  that  it  is  now  converted  into  an  in 
closed  skylighted  bedroom. 

Ephraim  Leonard,  son  of  Major  George,  was 
born  in  this  house  in  1706,  to  the  life  of  a  farmer 
and  iron-master.  He  received  a  tract  of  land  in 
that  part  of  Norton  which  was  set  off  (upon  his 
own  motion),  in  1770,  under  the  name  of  Mans 
field.  There  he  built  a  substantial  dwelling,  and 
in  the  summer  of  1739  rode  down  through  Attle- 
boro  and  Providence  to  Norwich,  Connecticut, 
to  bring  back,  as  wife,  Judith  Perkins,  snugly 
seated,  let  us  hope,  on  the  pillion  behind  him.1 
Though  somewhat  tardy,  for  that  day,  in  entering 
upon  married  life,  Fate  smiled  with  Ephraim.  He 
was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  having  survived  at 
least  three  wives  and  leaving  a  widow  to  mourn 
him.  His  tombstone,  surrounded  by  those  of  his 
wives  and  slaves,  may  be  seen  to-day  in  a  forest, 
hard  by  the  old  homestead.  Colonel  Ephraim's 
colonial  mansion  2  was  adorned  with  quaint  f  res- 

1  The  marriage  shuttle  was  flying  back  and   forth  between 
these  two  families,  for  we  find  that  Jacob  Perkins,  of  Norwich, 
had  taken  a  bride,  Miss  Jemima  Leonard,  from  Taunton,  in  1730. 

2  This  house,  originally  in  Norton,  was  situated  in  that  part 
set  off  as  Mansfield,  in  1770. 

[61] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


coes  on  the  walls,  and  contained  luxurious  furnish 
ings  from  the  mother  country.  Its  panelled  front 
door  was  made  from  a  single  slab  of  primeval 
oak.  Here  he  lived  in  baronial  state,  equal  to  that 
maintained  by  other  distinguished  American 
families. 

Like  Washington,  he  had  a  deer  park;  his  table 
was  spread  with  toothsome  viands,  wild  geese 
and  pigeons,  venison,  grape  jellies,  pickerel,  bass 
and  other  fish  from  the  ponds;  mallards  and 
woodcock  were  brought  in  the  fall  by  the  hunts 
men;  wild  turkeys  and  deer  hung  in  the  loft  to 
ripen  through  the  winter  frosts;  strings  of  dried 
apples  festooned  the  corn-crib;  the  ground  cellar, 
permeated  with  the  smell  of  cider,  was  stored 
with  turnips,  potatoes,  and  other  garden  pro 
ducts,  raised  by  his  gang  of  slaves ;  deep-sea  fish, 
lobsters,  and  sea-vegetables  were  sent  from 
Plymouth.  Close  by  the  mansion  stood  the 
slave-house,  with  its  bell  to  call  the  black  farm 
hands  to  meals  and  prayers.  On  winter  nights 
these  slaves  climbed  to  a  loft  under  the  ridge 
pole,  to  sleep  on  pallets  of  straw  around  the 
great  chimney. 

The  Leonards  were  a  landed  gentry,  strongly 
attached  to  the  Norton  home.  When  one  of 
them  was  offered  a  baronetcy  in  England,  tradition 
says  he  replied  that  he  would  rather  be  "Lord 
of  Acres"  in  America  than  Lord  D'Acres  in  Eng- 

[62] 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


land.1  Rev.  Nathaniel  Leonard  sent  to  Norton 
to  obtain  the  timber  for  his  new  house  in  Ply 
mouth,  "so  that  I  may  put  my  hand  on  it,"  he 
explained,  "and  say  that  you  and  I  were  raised 
out  of  the  same  soil  and  breathed  the  same  air  — 
we  are  brothers." 

Several  years  all  three  selectmen  of  the  town 
were  Leonards.2  The  social  position  of  the  family 

1  The  Leonard  family  came  of  noble  origin,  claiming  descent 
from  Leonard   D'Acres,  a  nobleman  descended  in  two  lines 
from  Edward  III  through  one  of  his  sons,  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke 
of  Lancaster,  and  Thomas  Plantagenet,  Duke  of  Gloucester. 
The  arms  of  the  Leonards  and  Leonard  D'Acres  are  the  same. 

In  a  book  of  heraldry,  published  March  25,  1737,  we  find  this 
account  of  a  Leonard  Castle. 

"This  beautiful  Castle  stands  not  far  from  ye  old  Caer- 
Pensavel-Coit  of  ye  Britains.  This  place  was  called  Saxons 
Hyrst  from  its  situation  among  the  woods. 

"Soon  after  the  arrival  of  ye  Normans,  it  was  ye  seat  of  a 
Family  who  from  ye  Place  took  their  name  of  de  Hyrst  or  Herst. 

"From  ye  Posterity  of  Walleron  de  Herst  who  assumed  ye 
name  of  Monceaux  (which  name  also  from  that  time  has  been 
annexed  to  ye  Place)  it  came  by  marriage  to  the  Fiennes.  Sir 
Roger  Fiennes  or  Fynes  obtained  License  from  K.  Henry  IV.  and 
built  ye  present  Noble  Pile.  It  continued  in  this  family  till  with 
Margt,  Granddaughter  of  Thomas  Ld  Dacres,  it  passed  to  Samp 
son  Leonard,  Esq.,  whose  sister  being  married  to  Dr.  Francis 
Hare,  now  Lord  Bishop  of  Chichester,  tis  the  property  of  their  son 
and  Heir,  Francis  Hare  Naylor,  Esq."  (Now  Hurst-Monceaux). 

2  Though  the  Leonards  in  the  eighteenth  century  were  the 
chief  family  of  Norton,  in  the  nineteenth,  the  Lincolns,  of  Norton, 
Raynham,  and  North  Taunton,  had  become  so  numerous  that 
when  Abraham  Lincoln,  supposed  to  be  descended  from  this 
family,  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  there  was  a  political 
club  composed  entirely  of  that  name. 

[63] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


is  shown  by  their  elaborate  tombstones  in  the 
Norton  cemetery,  where  a  posthumous  rank  is 
still  preserved  in  table-shaped  tombs,  rising  king- 
like  among  the  bowing  slate  headstones  of  their 
humbler  neighbors.  "I  am  a  Leonard"  was  a 
badge  of  nobility  much  like  "I  am  a  Roman." 
A  venerable  daughter  of  the  family,  married  to 
a  man  of  less  distinguished  name,  upon  being 
questioned,  after  a  serious  accident,  as  to  her 
identity,  replied,  if  you  please,  "  I  am  the  daugh 
ter  of  'old  Dr.  Leonard.'"  The  late  Mrs.  Peddy 
Bowen,  a  white-handed  lady  of  quality,  still  re 
membered  in  pleasing  anecdote,  was  spoken  of 
as  the  "last  of  the  Leonards."  When  Zepha- 
niah  Leonard  died,  a  zealous  eulogist  (presuma 
bly  his  neighbor  and  friend,  Benjamin  Church) 
wrote  a  high-sounding  epitaph  of  which  a  couplet 
read :  — 

"Even  the  Leonards  undistinguished  fall 
And  Death  and  hovering  darkness  covereth  all." 

These  lines  were  somewhat  perverted  by  local 
philosophers  into  the  phrase,  "Even  the  Leonards 
must  die,"  making  a  jest  of  their  importance. 
The  ill-chosen  lines  were  ultimately  chiselled  off 
by  Zephaniah's  grandson  in  chagrin,  after  the 
family  had  dwindled  in  greatness. 

As  they  accumulated  wealth,  they  accumulated 
trouble.     Blunders  and  quarrels  brought  down 


s 


Land  of  the  Leonards 


upon  them  a  horde  of  lawyers,  —  a  necessary 
evil  born  of  an  erring  race.  They  discovered 
that  the  only  way  to  outwit  the  lawyer  was  for 
everybody  to  become  one.  Thomas  Leonard  had 
been  empowered  to  hold  court  when  Bristol 
County  was  set  off,  in  1685.  This  judgeship  was 
kept  in  the  family  a  hundred  years.  When  John 
Adams  came  to  Taunton  on  court  matters,  in  his 
youth,  he  found  on  the  list  of  justices  five  Leon 
ards  —  George,  Sr.,  George,  Jr.,  Ephraim,  Zepha- 
niah,  and  Daniel,  and  began  to  refer  to  Taunton 
as  the  "land  of  the  Leonards." 

Ephraim  Leonard  brought  his  bride  to  the  Nor 
ton  home  in  the  summer  of  1739.  On  the  3Oth 
day  of  May,  1740,  when  the  orioles  were  nesting 
in  the  branches,  lilacs  perfuming  the  air,  and  bees 
humming  in  the  orchard  where  petals  of  apple 
blossoms  fell  like  snowflakes,  a  boy  was  born  into 
this  home  and  christened  "Daniel"  from  the 
mother's  side  of  the  house.  He  came  into  a  fam 
ily  of  gentlefolk  that  had  the  blood  of  nobles 
in  their  veins,  and  to  a  home  filled  with  hospital 
ity,  with  wealth,  health,  education,  and  honors 
awaiting  him.  The  mother  died  that  summer, 
leaving,  as  an  inspiring  legacy,  her  unfulfilled  love 
and  aspiration.  And  here  the  life  story  of  our 
other  hero  opens  with  a  picture  of  the  infant 
Daniel  lulled  to  sleep  in  the  arms  of  a  crooning 
negro  nurse. 


THEN  THE  SCHOOLBOY 


CHAPTER   IV 
i 

Boston  Latin  and  Norton  School  Days 

Two  lads  that  thought  there  was  no  more  behind 
But  such  a  day  to-morrow  as  to-day 
And  to  be  boy  eternal. 

Winter's  Tale. 

ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE  was  born  at  a 
house  in  School  Street,  Boston,  near  the 
present  City  Hall,  at  4.30  A.M.,  March  4, 
1731.  That  he  was  happy  over  his  "early  start" 
in  life  is  shown  by  the  precision  with  which  he 
refers  to  the  moment  in  his  journal  upon  success 
ive  birthdays.  The  house  was  almost  out  in  the 
suburbs  then,  though  later  the  neighborhood  be 
came  the  haunt  of  aristocracy;  the  North  End 
was  then  the  court  end  of  Boston.  A  month  after 
this  son  was  born,  Thomas  Paine  purchased  a  house 
on  the  "lane  leading  to  the  Almshouse,"  near  the 
corner  of  Beacon  and  Bowdoin  Streets.  This 
house  stood  much  higher  than  the  present  build 
ings  in  that  locality;  for  Beacon  Hill  was  cut 
down  many  feet  to  fill  in  the  Boston  Mill  Pond. 
Mother  Treat  lived  with  the  Paines;  also  Mrs. 
Treat's  sister,  and  James  Freeman,  a  nephew  of 
Thomas  Paine,  employed  by  him  as  bookkeeper. 
In  January,  1735,  Thomas  Paine  bought  a  brick 

[69] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


house,  next  door  to  the  Boston  Latin  School,  in 
this  same  School  Street. 

Coming  out  on  the  doorstep,  with  shining 
morning  face,  the  boy  Robert  could  look  over  at 
the  weathercock  on  the  Province  House  where  the 
curious  copper  Indian,  with  arm  behind  his  back, 
was  shooting  against  the  wind ;  he  could  look  across 
to  Copp's  Hill,  where  the  tombstones  of  the  fore 
fathers  were  silhouetted  against  the  sky;  above 
him  was  Gentry  Hill  and  its  hanging  "  iron  skillet " 
filled  with  kindling  to  be  ignited  in  the  hour  of 
alarm;  to  the  eastward  was  Fort  Hill,  where  the 
red  banner  of  King  George  was  blazing  in  the 
sunlight,  and  the  harbor  beyond,  whitening  with 
the  fishermen's  outgoing  sails.  The  immediate 
environment  was  one  to  entice  a  boy.  Gentry 
(now  Park)  Street  ran  past  the  Granary,  which 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Park  Street  Church. 
In  early  days,  the  Common  extended  to  the  cor 
ner  of  Tremont  and  School  Streets,  including  the 
Granary  which  gave  its  name  to  the  Granary 
Burial  Ground,  set  off  in  1660.  Below  the  pound 
stood  the  Bridewell,  a  large  two-story,  brick 
building  120  feet  long,  erected  in  1737,  to  serve 
as  an  insane  asylum  and  workhouse,  anticipating 
the  present  Deer  Island  institution.  Near  at 
hand  was  a  large  brick  almshouse,  so  overflowing 
with  the  poor,  feeble-minded,  sick,  and  aged,  that 
it  was  colloquially  known  as  the  "Hell  Huddle." 

[70] 


,     • 


DIAGRAM    OF   BOSTON    IN    PAINE'S    BOVHOOD 
Paine  lived  in  the  centre  of  the  Peninsula 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

Occasionally  in  summer,  Robert's  father  preached 
to  the  inmates,  but  we  imagine  the  boy  saw 
enough  of  such  unfortunates  during  week-days, 
and  preferred  to  remain  outside,  teasing  the  stray 
horses,  cows,  and  swine  confined  in  the  adjacent 
pound.  His  sister  Abigail,  four  years  older  than 
he,  kept  careful  watch  over  his  vagrancy  when 
he  wandered  down  to  interview  the  vocal  in 
habitants  of  the  frog-pond.  Sister  Eunice,  two 
years  his  junior,  was  a  constant  companion;  some 
times  on  Sunday,  Bob  would  mount  a  cricket, 
select  a  text,  and  solemnly  exhort  his  imaginary 
congregation,  represented  only  by  the  solitary 
Eunice  sitting  in  appreciative  silence. 

In  his  rambles  up  and  down  the  tortuous 
streets  and  narrow  alleys,  Bob  visited  Hutchin- 
son's  Corner  for  sweetmeats,  or  the  apothecary 
at  the  "Old  Cocked  Hat,"  with  its  many  gables 
and  overhanging  upper  stories;  the  "Noah's  Ark," 
with  its  walls  seamed  by  the  great  earthquake,  — 
a  gathering-point  for  grizzled  sea-captains  and 
bearded  Spanish  sailors;  the  Boston  Stone,  from 
which  distances  were  measured ;  the  powder  house, 
wishing-stone  and  gibbets  on  the  Common  where 
pirates  were  executed  on  Fast  Days;  and  the 
great  windmill  on  the  point  erected  by  the 
pioneers.  He  sailed  toy  boats  upon  the  Mill  Pond 
and  spent  happy  hours  on  Long  Wharf,  which 
extended  half  a  mile  into  the  harbor,  having 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


a  wall  of  warehouses  on  one  side.  There  he 
fished  for  pollock  and  cunners,  mayhap  baiting 
his  hook  for  the  sea  gulls  coming  too  closely 
ashore.  On  rainy  days  he  visited  the  lofts  filled 
with  his  father's  merchandise,  and  listened  to 
yarns  by  old  sea-dogs  about  China  and  the  Span 
ish  Main.  He  saw  at  a  distance  the  splendid 
gatherings  at  the  Province  House,  and  Brom- 
field's,  and  Sir  Harry  Frankland's  magnificence; 
but  he  steered  clear  of  the  Bunch  of  Grapes 
and  Green  Dragon  taverns,  as  scrupulously  as  did 
young  John  Adams;  for  he  well  knew  that  the 
black  strap  would  be  taken  from  the  hook  behind 
the  kitchen  door  if  his  father  once  caught  him 
within  their  precincts.  Now  and  then  his  father 
took  him  to  his  counting-room  and  set  him  to 
work,  tallying  the  invoices  with  the  cargoes  from 
the  West  Indies;  and  on  Saturday  afternoons  in 
summer  he  would  take  the  boy  bathing  at  the 
narrow  beach,  cleared  among  the  eel-grass  at  the 
foot  of  the  Common,  or  boating  on  Charles  River, 
a  treat  he  was  denied  when  alone,  as  an  uncle 
had  there  been  drowned  on  the  very  day  he  en 
tered  college. 

There  were  merry  hours,  also,  visiting  the  old 
parsonage  at  Weymouth  where  his  father  had 
preached.  On  clear  days  the  Blue  Hills  of  Mil 
ton  challenged  him  and  his  comrades  to  explore 
ledges  where  rattlesnakes  were  sunning  themselves, 

[72] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

and  wild  cats  prowling.  The  prenatal  instinct 
for  mast-climbing  prompted  him  to  clamber  to 
the  pine-tops  on  the  summit  and  trace  the  curving 
ocean  shores  and  the  sapphire  ponds  among  the 
hills  which  intervene  between  Boston  and  the  far 
away  peaks  of  Monadnock  and  Wachusett.  With 
Eunice  as  comrade,  he  set  traps  for  squirrels; 
placed  water-wheels  in  the  brooks,  sought  pun 
gent  flag-root  in  the  fresh  marshes,  and  went  to 
see  fishermen  draw  the  alewive  seine.1 

Visiting  their  aunt  at  Barnstable  each  summer, 
it  was  their  delight  to  go  where  clams  were  so 
thick  that  they  spouted  an  inverted  shower  bath, 
as  the  fiddler-crabs  rattled  off  to  shelter  among 
the  rosemary.  They  watched  the  protean  changes 
of  sea  and  sky;  gathered  periwinkles,  star-fish, 
devil's-apron  and  sea  wreckage,  while  Robert 
held  the  white  shells  to  Eunice's  ear  that  she  might 
hear  the  mysterious  song  of  the  sea. 

Robert  fitted  for  college  in  the  old  one-story, 
brick  Latin  School.  An  addition  to  the  new  and 
ambitious  King's  Chapel  required  taking  a  part 
of  the  ground  occupied  by  the  school  and  Robert 
records  that  he  attended  the  laying  of  the  corner 

1  An  old  quatrain  runs: 

Hingham  for  beauty, 
Cohasset  for  pride, 
If  it  was  n't  for  herring 
Weymouth  had  died. 

[73] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


stone  in  1749.*  The  new  Latin  School  was  a  stone 
building  with  a  belfry  and  bell,  erected  at  the 
expense  of  the  King's  Chapel  trustees.  "Master 
Birch"  was  the  famous  John  Lovell,  who  moulded 
Boston  youth,  "  lashed  into  Latin  by  the  tingling 
rod,"  from  1717  till  the  famous  day,  in  1775,  when 
he  announced  the  opening  of  the  war,  —  "De- 
ponite  libros."  Lovell  himself  was  a  Loyalist,  but  he 
inspired  such  patriots  as  John  Hancock,  Thomas 
Gushing,  James  Bowdoin,  Sam  and  John  Adams, 
all  of  whom  Paine  as  a  boy  came  to  know. 

At  home  Bob  was  carefully  brought  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  The  Old 
South  Church  had  such  important  influence  in 
his  formative  days  that  we  may  dwell  a  moment 
on  its  story.  About  1670,  two  factions  arose  in  the 
First  Church,  on  the  subject  of  baptism  and  the 
introduction  of  the  "Halfway  Covenant."  The 
liberal  wing,  being  in  the  minority,  withdrew  and 
gathered  a  new  congregation,  known  first  as  the 
"Third  Church,"  afterwards  as  the  "Old  South." 
Here  Samuel  Willard,  Paine's  great-grandfather, 
was  long  pastor,  and  here  in  boyhood  Paine  at 
tended,  sitting  in  a  box-pew  with  his  grand- 

1  Joseph  Green,  in  his  poem  on  Boston,  says  of  the  removal  of 
the  building  to  the  other  side  of  the  street: 

"A  fig  for  your  learning!  I  tell  you  the  town 

To  make  the  church  larger,  must  pull  the  school  down." 
"Unhappily  spoken!"  exclaims  Master  Birch; 
"Then  Learning,  it  seems,  stops  the  growth  of  the  Church!" 

[74] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

mother,  mother,  father,  sisters,  and  aunt  —  a 
family  party  of  seven,  punctual  at  meeting,  three 
times,  on  the  Lord's  Day.  In  strange  evolution 
the  First  Church  of  Boston,  once  rigidly  orthodox, 
later  developed  into  a  Unitarian  Church,  which 
Paine  in  old  age  attended,  while  the  dissenting 
Third  Church  to-day  remains  an  orthodox  body 
in  its  new  uptown  meeting-house.1  The  other 
day,  after  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  years, 
the  two  churches  discovered  that  all  are  dug  from 
the  same  clay,  and  Dr.  Gordon,  from  the  Trini 
tarian  Old  South,  administered  the  communion 
to  Unitarians  of  the  First  Church,  among  whom 
were  direct  descendants  of  our  Paine. 

The  "Great  Awakening,"  a  spell  of  religious 
ferment  from  1730  to  1750,  succeeded  a  period  of 
spiritual  apathy  and  languor.  People  were  aroused 
by  the  powerful  preaching  of  Jonathan  Edwards, 
of  Northampton,  and  carried  away  with  the  ear 
nest  eloquence  of  George  Whitefield.  Governor 
Belcher,  who  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  Whitefield 
in  Georgia,  invited  him  to  Boston.  He  first  came 
September  15,  1740,  and  was  taken  in  tow  by 
Robert  Treat  Paine's  great-uncle,  Josiah  Willard, 
secretary  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  for 
thirty  years.  During  Whitefield's  constant  preach- 

1  Both  these  societies  now  meet  in  new  sanctuaries,  near 
where,  in  Paine's  boyhood,  British  ships-of-war  could  come  to 
anchor. 

[75] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ing,  young  Paine  was  among  the  great  out-of- 
doors  audiences,  so  large  that  several  persons 
lost  their  lives  in  the  crush.  When  Whitefield 
preached  in  the  Old  South  Church  the  boy  must 
have  been  impressed  and  tickled  to  see  this  gray- 
haired,  cross-eyed,  young  minister  hoisted  in 
through  a  side-window,  on  account  of  the  tre 
mendous  audience,  as  a  few  years  later,  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren  made  a  similar  flank  entry,  when  it  was 
otherwise  impossible  to  reach  the  pulpit.  White- 
field  came  several  times,  sometimes  sent  for  by 
Parson  Prince  when  he  thought  the  "heavenly 
shower"  was  over.  Paine  never  failed  to  hear  him 
and  wrote,  in  critical  college  days,  that  he  "ap 
plauded  the  oratory,  but  condemned  his  juris 
prudence."  Whitefield's  teaching  became  the 
subject  of  violent  discussions;  the  air  of  New  Eng 
land  was  alive  with  pamphlets,  tracts,  and  treat 
ises  for  and  against  this  preacher.  During  and 
after  his  visits,  there  were  large  additions  to  the 
church  membership;  the  face  of  the  town  seemed 
changed,  and  a  moral  uplift  was  apparent  at 
taverns  and  in  the  streets.  Whitefield  keyed  up 
the  populace  to  high  nervous  pitch.  Robert 
caught  the  excitement  of  these  "revivals."  In 
1746  he  joined  the  Old  South  Church,  being  then 
fifteen  years  old.1 

1  Congregational  statistics  show  this  is  the  age  when  the 
greatest  numbers  become  church  members. 

[76] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

He  records,  March  16: 

This  day,  I  was  taken  into  the  Old  South  Church 
in  Boston,  and  took  the  covenant  of  grace  upon  me; 
and  that  it  might  be  a  perpetual  covenant  never  to 
be  broken  and  that  I  might  never  more  return  to 
sin  or  indulge  myself  in  any  iniquity,  but  in  the  name 
of  God,  I  will  resolve  against  all  sins,  especially  those 
that  most  easily  beset  me. 

Apparently  his  grandmother,  in  commendation 
of  his  course,  presented  him  with  a  memento  of 
the  occasion,  for  his  diary  says : 

March  20,  1746:  Grandmother  gave  me  a  gold  ring 
(nil  nisi  dantis  amore). 

Parson  Prince  gave  him  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship,  as  he  had  christened  him.  Young  Paine 
took  a  deep  interest  in  all  things  religious,  listen 
ing  not  only  to  Prince  and  Sewall  expounding 
the  catechism  at  the  Old  South,  but  to  Samuel 
Mather,  at  the  Second  Church;  to  Mather's 
cousin,  Mather  Byles;  to  Benjamin  Coleman,  at 
Brattle  Street,  and  Jonathan  Mayhew  at  the 
West  Church,  the  last  being  an  especial  favorite 
of  Paine.  Whenever  he  met  a  parson  in  wig  and 
bands,  black  skull  cap  and  Geneva  cloak,  with 
Bible  under  his  arm,  he  would  doff  his  cap  in 
respect  for  the  cloth.  He  was  likely  recognized 
by  Governors  Belcher  and  Shirley,  from  the  fact 
that  his  uncle  was  secretary  at  the  Province  House 

[77] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


and  his  father  and  grandfather  had  been  clergy 
men. 

To  his  parents  and  grandmother,  the  Sabbath 
was  a  day  of  keen  pleasure,  when  they  could  in 
dulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  soul-stirring  sermon ;  but  to 
a  boy,  the  long  sermon,  running  often  to  "twenty- 
fifthly,"  seemed  an  uncomfortable  interpretation 
of  the  Bible.  Hell  became  as  real  a  place  in  his 
geography  as  Cornhill  or  Boston  Harbor.  He  sat 
with  eyes  wide  open,  in  torture  at  the  thought 
of  eternal  damnation;  kicked  his  feet  on  the 
floor  to  keep  them  warm,  or  finally  went  to  sleep 
from  sheer  exhaustion.  A  strict  Sunday  observ 
ance  was  one  of  the  last  of  the  Puritan  notions 
to  be  relinquished.  No  walking  the  streets  or 
loafing  at  the  tavern  was  allowed  to  mar  the 
sanctity  of  the  day.  On  Saturday  evening,  Bob 
read  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  Mather's  "Essays  To 
Do  Good,"  or  his  great-grandfather  Willard's 
"Body  of  Divinity,"  the  first  folio  printed  in  New 
England,  containing  two  hundred  and  fifty  lec 
tures  on  the  "Obligation  of  the  Sabbath,"  "The 
Doctrine  of  Devotion,"  the  "Lawfulness  of  In 
terest  on  Money,"  and  such  controversial  theo 
logical  questions,  popular  in  their  day,  though  a 
weariness  to  a  modern  reader.  Robert  quizzed 
Eunice  in  the  catechism,  and  went  to  bed  after 
carefully  shining  his  boots,  in  preparation  for  the 
rigid  observance  of  the  following  day. 

[78] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

Boston,  then  over  a  century  old,  was  a  town  of 
fifteen  thousand  people.  The  oligarchy  of  the 
greater  Mathers  was  now  ended;  Judge  Sewall, 
the  diarist,  had  laid  down  his  chronicle  pen.  The 
age  of  brocade  was  arrived;  King's  Chapel  held 
many  ruffle-shirted  Episcopalians;  halberdiers  at 
tended  the  Governor,  and  lace  cuffs  and  powdered 
wigs  were  in  evidence  at  the  Thursday  Lecture. 
George  Brownell  applied  to  the  selectmen  to 
instruct  pupils  in  the  "gentle  art  of  dancing." 
This  raised  a  rumpus  among  church-goers.  By 
1740,  Boston  had  a  population  of  sixteen  thousand 
thrifty,  tidy,  and  prosperous  citizens.  In  1742, 
there  were  1719  houses,  166  warehouses,  1200 
widows  of  sea-captains,  and  1514  negroes.  Peter 
Faneuil  had  given  Boston  his  hall,  to  rank  with 
the  Town  House,  Province  House,  and  some  fine 
mansions.  There  were  four  schoolhouses  (but  no 
Sunday  Schools),  three  Episcopal  churches,  one 
meeting-house  of  Quakers,  and  one  of  Baptists. 
The  streets  were  badly  paved;  watchmen  walked 
their  rounds  at  night  crying  the  hour  and  giving 
account  of  the  weather  in  "moderate  tones." 
Theatrical  performances  were  frowned  upon,  but 
a  bowling-green  was  set  up  at  Fort  Hill,  in  1742. 
Town  reprobates  were  "posted"  upon  public 
walls.  Briareus  could  not  wear  the  multitude  of 
rings  and  gloves  given  to  the  minister  at  weddings 
and  funerals.  Lotteries,  small-pox,  and  Fast 

[79] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Days  flourished;  the  General  Court  authorized 
a  lottery  to  raise  funds  to  support  Harvard  Col 
lege.  Churches  sometimes  were  maintained  by 
this  means,  while  dancing  and  theatricals  were 
under  the  ban.1  Zabdiel  Boylston  was  a  famous 
physician  inoculating  with  Lady  Mary  Wortley 
Montagu's  newly-discovered  remedy,  and  thus 
creating  a  bone  of  contention  among  medical 
men.  It  was  argued  that  one  in  eight,  not  inocu 
lated,  died,  against  one  in  thirty  of  those  inocu 
lated.  Every  one  stood  in  dread  of  the  small-pox. 
Doctors  did  a  thriving  business  inoculating,  and 
contagious  hospitals  were  erected  everywhere.  In 
time  of  pestilence  or  war,  or  in  critical  affairs  of 
church  and  town  government,  it  was  customary  to 
seek  divine  guidance  by  days  of  fasting,  humilia 
tion,  and  prayer.  Hymns  of  "  mere  human  compos 
ers,"  as  the  successors  of  Dr.  Watts  were  called, 
began  to  be  hummed  and  fugued.  Hoop  petti 
coats  were  arraigned  by  the  "light  of  nature  and 
the  law  of  God."  Newspapers  contained  many 
advertisements  of  negroes  for  sale,  for  the  appre 
hension  of  runaways,  and  for  negro  wet-nurses. 
Bibles  were  clandestinely  printed  by  Daniel 
Henchman,  in  violation  of  the  exclusive  right 
given  to  John  Basket  in  England.  Umbrellas 

1  Behold  the  whirligig  of  time!  To-day  the  parson  may  waltz 
with  the  soprano,  and  play  the  role  of  Hamlet  on  the  chapel 
stage,  but  his  days  are  numbered  if  he  starts  a  church  raffle! 

[80] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

were  unknown,  and  the  "great-coat"  was  the 
only  effective  shield  against  east  wind  and  storm. 
No  shops  were  open  Saturday  night.  Dogs  were 
so  numerous  and  annoying  to  butchers  that  no 
one  was  allowed  to  keep  a  dog  above  ten  inches 
in  height.  In  1741,  the  impressment  of  Yankee 
sailors,  by  the  British  men-of-war  in  the  harbor, 
was  vigorously  resisted  by  Thomas  Paine,  father  of 
Robert.  There  were  spinning-schools,  and  Paine, 
in  his  diary,  speaks  of  attending  a  famous  spinning- 
bee  up  on  the  common.  A  gentleman  named  Old- 
mixon,  coming  from  England  in  1741,  said,  "The 
conversation  of  the  people  of  Boston  is  as  polite 
as  the  want  of  it  is  in  England." 

The  large  towns  were  on  the  seaboard.  Boston, 
though  third  in  size  in  America,  was  first  in  com 
mercial  importance;  six  hundred  vessels  cleared 
annually  from  her  harbor,  although  by  its  loca 
tion  it  was  a  "foul  weather  port."  On  the  hills, 
except  Gentry,  there  were  windmills  for  grind 
ing  corn.1  State  Street  was  then  King  Street; 
Washington  was  Cornhill,  Marlborough  Street, 
and  Orange  Street  in  its  different  sections. 

Paine's  boyhood  was  spent  in  this  snug  little 
town,  under  Puritan  influence.  He  was  not  one 

1  The  name  "  Tri-Mountain,"  from  which  the  present 
"Tremont"  Street  is  derived,  came  not  from  the  three  hills 
of  the  Peninsula,  but  from  the  three  peaks  of  Gentry  or  Beacon 
Hill,  the  loftiest  of  the  three. 

[81] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  "creep  like  snail  unwillingly  to  school."  It 
was  only  a  hop,  skip,  and  jump  from  his  back 
door  into  the  schoolhouse;  as,  later,  it  was  but  a 
step  over  the  back  fence  to  the  theatre  for  his 
son,  Robert,  who  became  a  theatrical  poet. 
Propinquity  counts  much  in  shaping  careers. 
Therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that  proximity  to 
the  schoolhouse  produced  a  bright  scholar  who 
could  master  the  rule  of  three,  recite  hie,  tuzc,  hoc, 
explain  dative,  locative,  and  ablative,  and  com 
mit  to  memory  his  lines  from  Ovid's  "Metamor 
phoses"  with  facile  aptness.  From  the  Boston 
Latin  School,  Robert  was  graduated  at  the  head 
of  his  class. 

In  contrast  to  the  town-born  Paine,  Daniel 
Leonard  enjoyed  the  traditional  wholesome 
New  England  country  boyhood.  Paine's  pro 
genitors,  by  their  sedentary  habits,  and  minds 
dwelling  much  in  the  unseen  realms  of  the  spirit 
world,  naturally  produced  a  child  inclined  to  be 
religious  in  character.  Boston's  narrow  streets 
lacked  the  ozone  of  pine  forests,  to  strengthen 
his  physique.  Daniel  Leonard  inherited  a  vig 
orous  current  of  blood  from  ancestors  who  kept 
in  constant  touch  with  Mother  Earth.  He  was 
cradled  close  to  Nature's  breast,  where  fields  spar 
kled  with  morning  dew,  brooks  rippled  through 
green  meadows,  and  bluebirds  heralded  the  spring 
time  from  the  budding  oak.  From  country  sources 

[82] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

of  vitality  was  he  strengthened  for  the  strain  of 
many  years. 

Although  Ephraim  Leonard  married  four  wives 
(some  say  five),  of  whom  two  were  widows,  there 
was  no  tangle  of  "my  children  and  your  children 
playing  with  our  children."  The  sole  darling  of 
the  household  was  Daniel,  who,  like  the  great 
Leonardo  of  Italy,  was  petted,  scolded,  coddled, 
or  spanked  by  a  succession  of  maternal  guardians. 
Born  with  an  iron  spoon  in  his  mouth,  the  spoon 
had  a  silver  lining.  In  the  springtime,  when  the 
partridge  was  drumming  in  the  woodlot,  he  helped 
"Robin,"  "Caesar,"  and  other  family  slaves  in 
breaking  steers.  He  planted  fields  of  Indian  corn, 
dropping  four  kernels  and  one  pumpkin  seed  in 
each  hill,  while  crows  smiled  from  the  neighboring 
pines.  The  town  gave  a  bounty  for  these  rapa 
cious  crows  and  bluejays,  and  they  made  a  tempt 
ing  target  for  Daniel  with  his  long  "Queen's 
arm."  He  dug  out  woodchucks,  tacking  their 
salted  skins  on  the  barn  door;  tamed  the  young 
crow  and  taught  him  to  "talk"  by  splitting  his 
tongue  on  a  silver  shilling;  listened  to  bees  buzz 
ing  in  the  hollow  tree;  carried  home  soft  squirm 
ing  squirrels  in  his  hat;  and  brought  in  pocketsful 
of  moss,  lichens,  quartz  pebbles,  "mud  turkles," 
and  eggs  of  the  old  fire  hang-bird.  We  must  for 
give  him  if  he  ever  came  home  with  a  huge  paper 
hornet's  nest,  to  set  the  contents  loose  during  a 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


sewing  bee  in  fulfilment  of  a  certain  text  of  Scrip 
ture.1  He  sought  the  chickadee's  home  in  the 
birch  stumps,  the  snake's  skin  in  the  fly-catcher's 
nest;  climbed  the  barn  rafters  to  see  the  young 
swallows,  and  gathered  cocoons  of  moth  and  but 
terfly.  He  knew  the  habits  of  the  far-travelling  fox, 
that  one  night  was  in  Norton,  the  next  in  Bridge- 
water,  the  third  in  Rehoboth.  He  set  horse-hair 
snares  under  springy  saplings,  and  climbed  pliant 
birches  to  swing  over  to  the  ground  in  thrilling 
hazard.  He  lay  at  night  by  charcoal  pits,  listening 
to  the  rollicking  whip-poor-will  and  whickering 
screech  owl ;  pricked  up  his  ears  to  catch  the  bark 
of  a  distant  coon;  or  watched  the  fantastic  sparks 
shooting  from  the  peaty,  smouldering  mound. 

In  the  summer,  when  clams  were  brought  from 
the  shore,  he  baked  them  on  heated  stones  in 
King  Philip's  Cave,  overlooking  Winnecunnett. 
He  chased  the  cattle  out  of  the  corn,  and  was 
happy  when  a  shy  deer  mingled  with  the  cows 
in  the  meadow.  He  went  swimming  at  Wad 
ing  River  or  in  the  Mill  Pond,  where  high-water 
was  marked  by  a  copper  bolt  driven  into  a  boul 
der,  and  performed  all  the  aquatic  tricks  such 
as  "skinning  the  cat"  and  "bobbing  for  eels," 
handed  down  by  boys  to  this  day.  After  the  swim, 
with  feathers  in  their  hair  the  naked  boys  raced 
whooping  through  the  woods,  imagining  they  were 

1  Deuteronomy  7:20. 

[84] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

"Injuns"  on  the  war-path.  They  made  huts  of 
odorous  pine-boughs,  built  camp-fires,  smoked 
sweet  fern  and  "everlasting,"  roasted  fish,  baked 
potatoes,  and  for  a  choice  relish  boiled  snakes' 
and  turtles'  eggs. 

The  sports  of  country  boys  are  sometimes  rude, 
crude,  and  unseemly.  In  Norton  there  was  a 
custom  of  egg-gathering  in  bird-nesting  season, 
when  the  boys  chose  sides,  which  separated  to 
scour  the  woods  and  rifle  the  nests  of  crows,  blue- 
jays,  owls,  hawks,  and  blackbirds.  The  banditti 
assembled  in  some  secluded  rendezvous,  where  the 
captains  of  each  side  would  utilize  the  plunder 
as  ammunition  in  a  hand-grenade  duel.  When 
they  returned  home,  a  walking  omelet,  they  were 
careful  to  make  an  unobtrusive  entrance  to  avoid 
a  supplementary  taste  of  "strap-oil." 

Dan  went  fishing  in  the  great  ponds  for  white 
perch,  pouts,  and  pickerel  (much  larger  than  we 
get  to-day),  and  possibly  he  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  one  of  those  antedeluvian  bull  frogs  which 
Jocelyn,  the  first  New  England  naturalist,  tells 
about,  "as  large  as  a  new-born  baby."  The  ring 
of  the  anvil  and  the  glow  of  the  "hearth"  were 
familiar  to  him;  wherever  he  went  a-visiting 
among  his  relatives,  he  found  a  bloomery  to 
play  in.  He  thoroughly  understood  the  iron  busi 
ness;  had  fed  the  oak  wood  into  the  furnace,  dug 
the  ore,  worked  the  bellows  and  poured  the 

[8S  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


molten  iron  into  the  pits  of  sand,  and  hammered 
out  the  nails  and  horseshoes.  The  June  Muster 
was  a  grand  holiday  event  for  every  boy  within 
a  half-day's  horseback  ride  of  the  training-field 
on  Taunton  Green. 

In  autumn,  Daniel  entered  the  surrounding 
forest,  multi-colored  as  the  coat  of  Joseph,  and 
climbed  the  high  shagbark  and  chestnut  trees,  to 
shake  down  ripened  nuts.  He  inflated  dried  blad 
ders,  put  a  solitary  pebble  rattling  inside,  then  tied 
them  to  the  tails  of  roosters  and  strutting  gob 
blers,  and  sent  them,  frightened  and  distracted, 
round  the  farmyard  to  create  a  gallinaceous  panic. 
He  baited  belligerent  rams  in  the  sheep  pasture, 
and  we  suspect  the  dare-devil  boy  sometimes 
entered  the  deer  ^paddock  and  mounted  an  old 
buck,  clinging  to  his  horns  and  dashing  madly 
about  the  enclosure. 

In  winter,  he  went  coasting,  "belly-bump," 
down  the  glistening  hills  on  his  bob-sled,  or  skating 
under  the  crystal  stars  on  the  Mill  Pond.  This 
Daniel  come  to  judgment  knew  the  tracks,  in  the 
snow,  of  all  animals;  the  two  prints  of  the  mink, 
the  four  prints  of  the  rabbit,  the  delicate  track 
of  the  white-footed  mouse,  and  the  double  track 
where  the  hound  had  followed  the  fox.  Occa 
sionally  the  three  marks  of  the  wild  turkey's 
foot  sent  him  hurrying  for  his  gun;  and  the  otter, 
raccoon,  and  howling  wolf  brought  excitement 
[86] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

a-plenty.  The  yawning  fireplace,  of  enormous  ap 
petite,  claimed  a  large  share  of  his  time  to  supply 
it.  In  the  evening,  he  roasted  corn  and  nuts  on 
the  hearthstone;  read  "Robinson  Crusoe"  and 
Franklin's  Almanac,  and  listened  to  stories  of 
local  ghosts  and  goblins,  by  the  fireside,  as  he 
watched  the  "wild  geese"  climbing  the  soot  on 
the  chimney-back.  Credulous  slaves  told  weird 
tales  of  African  life;  and  witch  stories  were  con 
nected  with  the  family.  One  tradition  was  that 
the  original  Major  George  Leonard,  Daniel's 
grandfather,  had  made  a  league  with  the  Old 
Rascal  in  order  to  gain  great  wealth,  and  in  re 
turn  for  services  rendered,  Leonard  was  to  give 
the  Devil  his  body  and  soul  when  called  for.  In 
1716,  he  was  ill  with  a  fatal  fever;  the  Evil  One 
appeared,  claimed  the  cadaver,  and  bore  it  away. 
Giving,  as  he  left,  a  tremendous  leap  from  the 
top  of  the  house,  he  landed  on  a  distant  rock, 
leaving  footprints  which  are  clearly  seen  to  this 
day  to  prove  the  story  true. 

Daniel  may  have  gone  with  his  father  to  hear 
Whitefield  speak  on  Berkley  Common.  The 
preacher  proclaimed  to  the  children  that  the  people 
of  Taunton  were  "part  man,  part  beast,  and  part 
Devil,"  and  a  few  years  later  came  back  to  correct 
his  statement  by  announcing  they  were  "  all  Devil." 1 

1  Norton  in  the  year  1910  is  a  peaceful,  unpretentious  town 
spread  out  over  a  flat  country  covered  with  white  pines,  juni- 

[87] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


So  Daniel  came  through  boyhood's  happy  days 
without  encountering,  so  far  as  we  know,  either 
constable  or  bonesetter. 

As  for  his  school  days,  we  have  the  following 
entry  in  the  town  records: 

December  30,  1751  —  Voted  to  Ephraim  Leonard, 
Esq.,  for  boarding  ye  school  master  (Stephen  Far- 
rar)  6i  weeks,  and  feching  him  from  Concord, 
£11-00-0  Old  Tenor;  £1-9-4,  Lawful  Money. 

Six  and  a  half  weeks  in  the  year  is  small  school 
ing  for  a  boy  of  eleven,  even  though  he  may  ab 
sorb  learning  from  daily  companionship  with  the 

pers,  and  maple  and  white  oak,  for  charcoal  burning.  Its  two 
thousand  inhabitants  are  gathered  in  a  half-dozen  centres;  sev 
eral  of  the  old  Leonard  mansions  are  still  standing  to  remind 
the  visitor  that  they  were  the  lords  of  this  land,  though  the 
house  in  which  Daniel  grew  up  was  razed  in  1893.  The  first  min 
ister's  house,  a  fine  type  of  the  substantial  Colonial  home,  is 
pictured  on  the  town  seal,  with  that  atmosphere  of  solidity,  hos 
pitality,  and  comfort  known  to  the  old-fashioned  Yankee  folk. 
Norton  has  many  greenhouses  where  midwinter  cucumbers  are 
raised  for  Boston  epicures,  and  in  which  the  water  is  still  so 
impregnated  with  iron  as  to  corrode  the  boilers;  there  is  a 
large  box-board  factory  in  which  the  surrounding  forests  are 
being  continually  converted  into  casings  for  all  manner  of 
merchandise;  there  is  a  jewelry  factory  catering  to  the  vanity 
of  America.  The  most  noteworthy  change  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  last  hundred  years  is  Wheaton  Seminary,  founded 
by  Daniel  Leonard's  American  agent.  This  institution,  which 
advertises  the  town  of  Norton  about  the  country,  has  drawn 
young  women  from  every  State  of  the  Union  to  this  village. 

[  88] 


Boston  and  Norton  School  Days 

preceptor,  sitting  beside  him  at  the  table,  and 
sleeping  with  him  at  night.  The  town  was  quar 
tered  for  school  purposes  as  the  following  entry 
shows : 

At  a  legal  town  meeting  of  Norton,  Massachu 
setts,  held  March  29, 1727,  it  was  "Voted  that  Jo- 
siah  Griggs  shall  be  scholl  master  to  keep  Scholl  in 
Norton.  .  .  .  Provided  he  will  keep  scholl,  the  first 
quarter  at  ye  middle  of  the  towne;  and  the  second 
quarter  at  Winconett;  and  the  third  quarter  on  the 
south  side  of  ye  way  that  is  towards  Elezer  Fisher's; 
and  the  fourth  quarter  at  Left.  White's  or  theyre- 
abouts." 

Daniel  lived  in  the  Winnecunnett  section,  and 
rode  his  pony  to  the  other  remote  places,  swinging 
around  the  circle  for  twenty-five  weeks.  The  min 
ister,  of  course,  supplemented  the  pedagogue  in 
preparing  the  youth  for  college.  The  first  settled 
minister  at  North  Precinct  (whom  Ephraim 
Leonard  had  brought  down  in  his  chaise  from 
Brookline,  as  he  had  brought  the  school-teacher 
from  Concord)  was  Ebenezer  White,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  in  1733.  He  administered  the  church 
affairs  for  twenty  years,  and  taught  young  Daniel, 
as  Rev.  John  Avery  at  South  Precinct  taught  his 
cousin,  George,  a  few  years  earlier.  This  George 
attended  Harvard,  but  other  cousins  went  to  Yale, 
so  that  Daniel  had  inclinations  toward  both  in- 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


stitutions.1  Eleven  years  after  Paine  was  matricu 
lated,  Daniel,  nine  years  younger,  was  admitted 
to  Harvard.  Thus  we  picture  him  at  sixteen  years 
of  age,  like  the  Daniel  of  Bible  days,  "of  no 
blemish  and  well-formed,"  going  up  to  Harvard 
in  his  eagerness  and  expectancy  to  enjoy  the  new 
faces,  new  friends  and  new  pleasures  of  the  col 
lege  life  in  which  he  was  to  take  a  conspicuous 
part. 

1  President  Clapp  of  Yale  was  a  summer  resident  of  the  Old 
Colony  at  Scituate,  and  his  influence  may  have  been  felt  in  this 
vicinity. 


CHAPTER  V 
Harvard  College  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

After  God  had  carried  us  safe  to  New  England,  and  we  had  builded 
our  houses,  provided  necessaries  for  our  livelihood,  reared  convenient 
places  for  God's  worship,  and  settled  the  Civil  Government,  one  of  the 
next  things  we  longed  for  and  looked  after  was  to  advance  Learning  and 
perpetuate  it  to  Posterity,  dreading  to  leave  an  illiterate  Ministry  to 
the  Churches,  when  our  present  ministers  shall  lie  in  the  Dust. — 
JOHN  WINTHROP. 

A1  the  age  when  the  ancient  Roman  youth 
assumed  the  toga  virilis,  Bob  Paine  was 
putting  on  the  prescribed  green  frock 
coat  and  skull  cap  of  the  Harvard  freshman.  His 
mother,  Eunice  Paine,  was  a  daughter,  step 
daughter,  granddaughter,  and  wife  of  a  minister; 
quite  naturally  she  wished  to  be  mother  of  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  The  tablet  on  the  western 
gate  of  the  Harvard  Yard,  quoted  above,  pro 
claims  that  the  institution  was  founded  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  young  men  for  the  ministry. 
For  a  century  afterward,  the  major  portion  of 
those  who  entered  college  expected  to  make  it  a 
stepping-stone  to  the  pulpit.  It  was  for  this  pur 
pose  that  Bob  was  sent  to  Harvard,  as  the  parents 
of  John  and  Sam  Adams  and  John  Hancock  had 
likewise  sent  their  boys,  although  no  one  of  this 
quartette  of  lifelong  intimates  is  recorded  in  the 

[91 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Quinquennial  with  "S.T.D."  appended  to  his 
name. 

On  a  September  morning,  then,  in  1745,  Paine's 
fond  mother  kissed  her  boy  good-bye,  sister  Abi 
gail  put  a  flower  in  his  button-hole,  and  Eunice, 
aged  twelve,  clapped  her  hands  and  exclaimed, 
"  Some  day  you  '11  be  a  great  preacher,  Bob,  and 
we'll  all  come  to  hear  you."  They  followed  Rob 
ert  with  admiring  eyes  as  away  he  rode  with  his 
father  in  the  chaise  down  across  Roxbury  Neck  to 
Cambridge,  seven  miles  distant,  as  the  guidestone, 
regardless  of  modern  short  cuts,  still  proclaims. 

The  college  world  of  which  Paine  became  a 
part  could  not  muster  one  hundred  and  fifty  all 
told.1  There  were  but  three  halls  around  the  Yard. 
The  faculty  consisted  of  President  Holyoke,  Pro 
fessors  Wigglesworth  and  Winthrop,  and  Tutors 
Hancock,  Mayhew,  Flynt,  and  Marsh.  Boys 
were  still  flogged,  although,  after  1734,  boxing 
the  ears  was  "expressly  reserved  to  the  president, 
professors  and  tutors."  Dignity  was  much  en 
forced.  The  students  were  little  old  men.  Con 
versations  were  carried  on  in  Latin,  or  something 
like  it.2  Daniel  or  Robert,  meeting  President  Hol- 

1  Paine's  class  graduated  twenty-three  members;  Leonard's, 
twenty-six. 

*  By  the  original  Dunster  rules,  "The  scholars  shall  never 
use  their  mother  tongue,  except  that  in  public  exercises  of 
oratory,  or  such  like,  they  be  called  to  make  them  in  English." 

[92] 


Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

yoke  in  the  College  Yard,  doffed  their  caps  at 
eight  paces  and  hailed  him  "Salve  o  *pr<zse"  and 
"passed  the  time  of  day"  among  themselves  as 
Pompey  or  the  Gracchi  might  have  done  in  the 
Roman  Forum.  If  Paine's  chum  called  him  "Bob  " 
in  public,  he  was  liable  to  a  fine;  there  were  fines 
for  "making  tumultuous  noises,"  "neglecting  to 
repeat  the  sermon,"  "despising  Hebrew,"  "going 
on  the  top  of  buildings,"  or  "leaving  college  with 
out  proper  garb."  To  wear  "silken  night-gowns" 
was  a  heinous  crime.  A  student  was  fined  a  shill 
ing  and  a  half  for  lying,  and  if  detected  at  card- 
playing  (Have  a  care,  Daniel!)  was  fined  two 
shillings  and  sixpence. 

If  a  minister's  son  is  the  Devil's  grandson,  col 
lege  days  will  prove  it.  Robert  was  not  especially 
precocious;  in  no  sense  did  he  exhibit  the  so-called 
flash  of  genius  later  ascribed  to  his  son;  neither 
a  prig  nor  an  aesthetic  recluse,  he  was  a  youngster 
emerging  from  a  long  line  of  students,  and  in 
heriting  poor  health.  Such  recreations  as  he  took 
were  limited  by  the  omnipresent  eye  of  the  fac 
ulty,  if  not  by  his  own  conventional  tastes.  Search 
ing  his  heart  for  hidden  guile,  he  lingered  over 
his  Shepard's  "Sincere  Convert"  or  Stoddard's 
"Guide  to  Christ."  He  indulged  in  the  milder 
forms  of  college  dissipation ;  gathered  with  the  boys 
in  front  of  the  buttery,  when  mutton  was  served 
too  frequently  at  Commons,  to  bleat  and  baa 

[93 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


until  the  steward  cried  for  mercy;  and  whenever 
the  butter  became  so  rancid  it  "was  n't  fit  to 
grease  a  farmer's  cart  wheels  with,"  he  rose  in 
righteous  indignation.  To  drive  dull  care  away, 
he  purchased  a  German  flute  at  the  cost  of  £4- 
185.;  and  bore  the  basso  prof  undo  when  the  boys 
sang  glees  inclose  harmony  under  professors'  win 
dows.  "Making  the  president's  hay"  was  then  a 
part  of  the  freshman  duty.  From  June  16,  1746, 
to  June  25,  as  his  journal  indicates,  you  might 
have  seen  Paine  whetting  his  scythe,  mopping 
his  moist  brow,  raking  hay  into  windrows,  or 
seeking  the  cool,  brown  jug  in  the  corner  of  the 
field.  The  "jug"  figures  in  Paine's  diary  in  his 
early  days.  The  laconic  but  expressive  entry, 
"Got  drunk,"  appears  as  late  as  March,  1767. 
For  May  15,  1746,  we  read: 

Whipple1  gave  us  a  very  sumptuous  treat.  Oliver 
got  drunk  before  dinner  and  I  went  home  a  little 
boozy  myself. 

It  was  provided,  by  a  law  passed  in  1734,  that 
no  undergraduate  should  "keep  by  him  brandy, 
rum,  or  any  other  distilled  liquors,  nor  make  use 
of  any  such  mixed  drinks  as  punch  or  flip  in  en 
tertaining  one  another  or  strangers."  Students 

1  Whipple,  the  first  in  rank  of  the  class,  died  the  year  after 
graduation;  Oliver  was  an  associate  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Science  with  Paine  in  1780. 

[94] 


Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

were  allowed  a  half-pint  of  beer  at  each  meal, 
and  Paine  frequently  ran  over  to  town  for  "half 
a  barrel  of  cyder."  The  nearest  route  between 
Cambridge  and  Boston  was  by  ferry.  The  keg  was 
placed  in  a  boat  at  Long  Wharf  or  the  Old  West 
End,  rowed  over  to  Cambridge,  and  conveyed  by 
willing  hands,  with  some  little  ceremony,  to  the 
tap-room  in  a  secret  cellar.  Cider  was  a  joy  to 
Paine  in  youth  and  a  solace  to  age.1  This  was  the 
natural  beverage  for  the  New  Englander,  made 
from  the  native  apple;  just  as  the  Frenchman 
drank  the  wine  of  the  grape,  the  Mexican  the 
cactus  juice,  or  the  Eskimo  his  whale  oil. 

To  keep  the  students  from  the  temptations  of 
Boston  taverns,  the  buttery  hatch  became  a  sort 
of  buffet  lunch,  where  beer,  cider,  and  other 
"extras"  could  be  obtained,  and  from  which  the 
butler  realized  many  perquisites.  All  the  stu 
dents  were  obliged  to  attend  Commons  unless  ex 
cused  by  the  president.  Constant  grumbling,  and 
the  discharge  of  steward  after  steward,  brought 
about  a  vote  of  the  Corporation  in  1750  that  the 
quantity  of  commons  be  "two  sizings  of  bread 
in  the  morning,  one  pound  of  meat  at  dinner  with 
sufficient  vegetables,  and  a  half-pint  of  beer;  and 

1  John  Adams  attributed  his  longevity  to  a  mug  of  hard  cider 
before  breakfast;  and  thought  the  first  ancestor  of  his  family 
would  never  have  eaten  the  apple  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  if 
he  had  known  what  good  cider  it  would  make. 

[95] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


at  night,  that  a  pot-pie  be  of  the  same  quantity  as 
usual,  and  also  half  a  pint  of  beer."  Soon  after 
Leonard  left  college,  beer  was  banished  from  the 
table,  and  cider  took  its  place,  brought  on  in  pew 
ter  quart  cans  which  were  passed  from  mouth 
to  mouth  like  the  wassail  bowl.  Students  were 
then  forbidden  to  sup  or  dine  in  town,  "except  on 
an  invitation  to  dine  or  sup  gratis,"  and  shortly, 
breakfasting  in  town  was  forbidden — the  morning 
meal  being  served  at  the  Commons  instead  of  at 
the  buttery. 

On  the  wall  of  the  dining-hall  was  hung  a  list 
of  the  students  written  in  large  German  text,  giv 
ing  their  names  in  the  order  of  their  rank;  those 
at  the  top  were  allowed  to  help  themselves  first 
and  pass  to  the  next.  A  platform,  raised  twenty 
inches,  put  the  seniors  and  tutors  on  a  higher 
level.  An  old  regulation  says : 

The  waiters,  when  the  bell  tolls  at  meal-time, 
shall  receive  the  plates  and  victuals  at  the  kitchen- 
hatch,  and  carry  the  same  to  the  several  tables  for 
which  they  are  designed.  And  the  senior  tutor  or 
other  senior  scholar  in  the  hall  shall  crave  blessing 
and  return  thanks. 

During  the  discussion  of  the  equality  of  men 
preceding  the  Revolution,  the  custom  of  rank 
ing  students  according  to  their  family  import 
ance,  instead  of  alphabetically,  was  questioned  as 

[96] 


Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

inconsistent  with  the  rising  American  ideals. 
Social  precedence  was  earlier  abolished  at  Yale, 
but  the  Harvard  faculty  still  sat  arbiters  of  rank 
until  1773,  weighing  the  standing  of  citizens  whose 
sons  were  in  college.  During  Paine's  and  Leon 
ard's  college  careers,  they  shone  by  their  fathers' 
glory  rather  than  their  own.  The  ranking  of  the 
class  produced  heart-burnings  and  jealousies 
among  the  students  and  their  parents.  Learning, 
blood,  culture,  pious  ancestry,  all  succumbed  to 
blatant  prosperity  in  the  West  India  or  slave 
trade.  It  was  a  day  of  excitement,  rage,  and  harsh 
reflections  on  the  faculty  by  disappointed  students, 
who  were  slow  to  acquiesce  in  their  allotment. 
Paine,  although  descended  from  a  president  of 
the  college,  ranked  only  ninth  in  his  class;  while 
Leonard,  son  of  a  wealthy  iron-master,  ranked 
second. 

When  Paine  entered  Harvard,  coming  with  the 
highest  honors  from  the  Boston  Latin  School,  he 
was  placed  in  the  home  of  Rev.  Mr.  Appleton, 
whose  family  name  is  now  preserved  in  the  col 
lege  chapel.  His  room-mate  was  a  friend  named 
Barrett,  who  died  in  his  sophomore  year.  Paine's 
watchful  care  of  this  feeble  chum  was  very  try 
ing,  for  he  himself  had  but  a  modicum  of  health; 
and  though  tall,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  weighed  only 
ninety  pounds. 

Rev.  Thomas  Paine,  starting  on  a  health  voyage 

[97] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


during  his  son's  college  course,  wrote  a  letter  of 
fatherly  counsel,  closing  thus : 

Let  these  texts  be  your  guide  in  all  cases,  civil  and 
religious.  Psalms  xxv,  9,  Matt,  xxvui,  2O.1 

Our  Puritan  ancestors  discouraged  familiarity 
in  their  intercourse  with  their  children.  Dignity 
and  restraint  were  impressed  upon  them,  and  their 
duty  was  exhibited  by  the  tone  of  submissive  re 
spect  and  obedience,  rather  than  of  warm  affec 
tion.  A  letter  by  Robert  to  his  father  in  1749  re 
veals  the  formal  relations  of  father  and  son  and  the 
mature  philosophy  of  the  young  man : 

Be  pleased,  sir,  to  accept  a  few  lines  as  a  token 
of  the  respect  and  duty  which  your  much  obliged  son 
bears  towards  you.  It  is,  indeed,  with  great  reluct 
ance  that  I  think  of  your  intended  voyage;  and  al 
though  it  is  not  for  me  to  regret  your  proceedings, 
yet  human  nature  has  many  foibles,  and  the  weak 
ness  of  youth  needs  much  indulgence.  If  your  health 
would  be  served  by  any  other  means,  with  great 
pleasure  should  I  hear  it;  but  if  that,  and  that 
method  only,  will  avail,  with  profound  submission, 
I  acquiesce.  I  may  not  have  another  opportunity 
of  writing  to  you,  or  of  hearing  from  you  again; 
therefore,  as  far  as  words  will  go,  I  would  express  my 

1  "The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment:  and  the  meek  will 
he  teach  his  way."  "Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  what 
soever  I  have  commanded  you:  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Amen." 

[98] 


Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

sincere  desire  for  your  welfare,  hoping  that  the  same 
Providence  which  has  hitherto  kept  us  both,  will  still 
keep  and  preserve  us,  and  bring  us  again  to  a  happy- 
meeting  in  this  world.  I  hope,  sir,  I  shall  never  be 
unmindful  of  the  relation  I  stand  in  to  you,  either  as 
a  child  or  as  one  who  professes  Christianity:  and,  sir, 
I  desire  your  remembrance  of  me,  that,  however 
Providence  orders  in  this  world,  yet  that  we  may  be 
happy  hereafter. 

Profanity  and  "taking  the  great  and  holy  name 
of  God  in  vain"  were  so  prevalent  in  college,  that 
(November  20,  1747)  Rev.  Mr.  Appleton  gave 
a  lecture  against  swearing,  and  called  upon  all 
who  had  "any  honor,  religion,  and  reverence  for 
the  name  of  God,"  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
discourage  the  unholy  practice.  Paine  was  among 
those  who  volunteered  to  report  any  profanity, 
and  kept  his  ear  alert  for  the  Latin  swear-words 
—  one  of  which,  "dei  te  perdant"  the  boys  had 
learned  from  lively  Terence. 

In  his  Journal,  May  14,  1746,  Paine  notes: 

Lee  returned  from  Louisburg.  Was  reduced  four 
teen  places  in  class,  and  compelled  to  make  public 
confession. 

Possibly  the  old  French  cross  from  the  chapel  at 
Louisburg,  found  years  afterward  in  the  base 
ment  of  one  of  the  Harvard  dormitories,  and  set 

[99] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


up  as  a  trophy  over  the  entrance  to  Gore  Hall, 
was  a  token  of  the  sign-stealing  proclivities  of 
this  student.  The  public  confession  in  chapel  at 
morning  prayers  was  one  of  the  punishments  for 
misdemeanors. 

Studies,  as  well  as  apparel,  were  prescribed. 
Both  Paine  and  Leonard  scanned  their  Virgil 
and  Juvenal,  parsed  Greek  paradigms,  attended 
vespers  (always  committing  to  memory  the  text 
of  sermons);  sharpened  their  quills,  and  trans 
lated  St.  Paul's  Epistles  from  the  original  Greek 
into  Latin  of  their  own  make;  struggled  with 
Euclid,  and  Newton's  "Principia,"  and  went  to 
hear  Whitefield,  who  periodically  appeared  to 
arraign  the  college;  saying  that  it  had  sunk  into 
a  "seminary  of  paganism,"  and  that  "their  light 
had  become  darkness  —  darkness,  that  may  be 
felt."  1 

1  The  standing  of  Paine's  class  was  as  follows: 

William  Whipple  Newport 

Andrew  Oliver  Boston 

Edward  Wigglesworth  Cambridge 

Nathaniel  Appleton  Cambridge 

Benjamin  Marston  Marblehead 

jjohn  Seaver  Kingston 

John  Cotton  Newton 

Cotton  Tufts  Medford 

Robert  Treat  Paine  Boston 

John  Wiswall  Boston 

Joshua  Green  Boston 

Samuel  Brooks  Medford 


Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

When  Daniel  Leonard  entered  Harvard,  he 
was  placed  third  in  his  class  of  1760,  and  after 
the  departure  of  Francis  Green,  ranked  second. 
Thomas  Brattle,  of  Cambridge,  stood  first.  Leon 
ard's  father  was  the  first  citizen  of  the  Norton 
Plantation,  had  prospered  in  business,  and  had 
held  nearly  every  office  of  consequence  except 
that  of  minister.  Daniel  Bliss,  of  Concord,  a 
great-uncle  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  was  Leon 
ard's  room-mate,  and  he,  with  Samuel  Dean,  also 
from  Norton,  was  with  Leonard  in  London  twenty 
years  later  as  a  Tory  exile.  Freshman  Leonard 
ran  bareheaded  around  the  Yard  on  errands  for 
the  seniors;  wrestled,  pitched  quoits,  and  was 
prominent  on  the  lighter  side  of  college  life.  In 
the  faculty  records  we  should  not  expect  to  find 
mention  of  Paine's  degradation  in  the  class  for  re 
fusing  to  doff  his  cap  to  tutors,  playing  on  his  flute 
at  midnight,  sleeping  during  class  lectures,  throw 
ing  stones  through  professors'  windows,  or  writing 
libellous  acrostics  on  the  faculty.  His  record  is 

William  Tidmarsh  Boston 

Gideon  Richardson  Sudbury 

Nathan  Tisdale  Lebanon 

Samuel  Haven  Framingham 

Joseph  Wilson  Maiden 
Abijah  Thurston 
Timothy  Pond 

Ezekiel  Dodge  Shrewsbury 

Israel  Cheever  Concord 

Oliver  Meriam  Concord 

r  ioi  i 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


even  clearer  than  that  of  Sam  Adams,  who  has 
one  solitary  reprimand  against  him  for  lying  abed 
after  the  college  bell   proclaimed  the  hour  for 
prayers.    Leonard  was  fined  a  number  of  times 
for  absence.    These  pecuniary  mulcts  (Yankees 
were  thrifty  in  the  matter  of  punishments)  sug 
gest  that  he  was  playing  truant  in  Boston.   Emer 
son  said :  "  Send  your  boy  to  school,  and  he  will  get 
his  education  on  the  road."   But  Daniel  was  never 
rusticated,  nor  convicted  of   flagrant  "crimes." 
In  1757,  a  military  company  was  formed  to  drill 
with  firelocks  on  the    Delta   (where  Memorial 
Hall  now  stands)  and  on  Cambridge  Common. 
In  these  "Harvard  Fencibles,"  Leonard  held  a 
captaincy.      The  student    soldiers,   aping  their 
elders,  learned  tactics  in  anticipation  of   enlist 
ment  in  the  days  when  France  and  England  were 
ready  to  fly  at  each  other's  throats  on  slightest 
provocation.    They  made   a  glittering  spectacle 
under   command  of    Captain  Brattle,   Leonard 
heading  the  first  division,  arrayed  in  green  coat, 
with  white  trimmings  and  buff  hose.    The  girls 
from  the  fine  houses,  which  later  became  "Tory 
Row,"  smiled  and  waved    their  handkerchiefs, 
and  Daniel   returned    the  greeting  with  sword 
salutation  as  he  passed   by  the  elm  tree  under 
which  Washington,  fifteen  years  later,  was  to  take 
command  of  the  American  Army. 

Leonard,   at  Commencement  in   1760,  deliv- 
[  102  ] 


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tiii 

Harvard  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 


ered  a  Latin  Oration  in  presence  of  Lieu  tenant- 
Governor  Hutchinson,  the  assembled  concourse 
of  alumni,  and  his  proud  father  and  stepmother.1 
In  1766,  he  went  to  Yale  to  receive  his  "ad 
eundem"  degree.  His  mother  (from  Norwich, 
Connecticut)  had  family  associations  with  Yale, 
and  this  branch  wished  Daniel  also  to  wear  the 
colors  of  their  college.  The  young  man  found  a 

1  The  order  of  rank  of  Leonard's  class  was: 


Thomas  Brattle 
Daniel  Leonard 
Ebenezer  Hancock 
Lewis  Vassall 
John  Lowell 
John  Hall 
William  Hooper 
Elijah  Dunbar 
John  Warren 
Daniel  Bliss 
Rev.  Josiah  Crocker 
Ebenezer  Williams 
Bunker  Gay 
Nathaniel  Wells 
William  Bradford 
John  Wyeth 
Dr.  William  Baylies 
Samuel  Deane 
Ephraim  Woolson 
James  Baker 
Timothy  Fuller 
John  Livermore 
Ebenezer  Rice 
Antipas  Steward 
Henry  Cuming 

[    103 


Cambridge 

Norton 

Boston 

Boston 

Newbury 

Wallington 

Boston 

Boston 

Wenham 

Concord 

Eastham 

Roxbury 

Dedham 

Wells 

Boston 

Cambridge 

Uxbridge 

Norton 

Lexington 

Dorchester 

Middleboro 

Westboro 

Marlboro 

Marlboro 

Hollis 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


new  atmosphere  in  New  Haven.  President  Clapp 
of  Yale  was  more  rigidly  orthodox  than  Dr.  Holy- 
oke  of  Harvard.  He  had  great  notions  of  dignity 
and  ceremony,  and  was  a  stickler  for  prayers  and 
scholastic  forms.  All  the  tutors  must  subscribe 
to  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  At  the 
same  time,  our  young  collegian's  social  position 
was  less  flattering  to  his  self-esteem,  and  accus 
tomed  as  he  had  been  to  sit  above  the  salt  at 
Harvard,  it  was  humiliating  to  be  placed  in  the 
middle  of  his  class  at  Yale.  But  he  adjusted 
himself  to  the  new  conditions,  and  to  secure  his 
honorary  degree,  studied  the  civil  constitution  of 
Great  Britain,  the  forms  of  court  procedure,  civil 
and  common  law,  military  and  commercial  law, 
besides  physics,  anatomy,  mathematics,  and  liter 
ature.  Exalted  by  two  college  degrees,  we  can 
see  him  as  he  greets  his  friends  in  Norton  at  the 
age  of  twenty-six,  a  gentleman  and  scholar. 


NEXT  THE  SOLDIER 


CHAPTER  VI 
Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

I  remember  the  black  wharves  and  the  slips, 

And  the  sea-tides  tossing  free; 
And  Spanish  sailors  with  bearded  lips, 
And  the  beauty  and  mystery  of  the  ships, 

And  the  magic  of  the  sea. 

LONGFELLOW. 

Have  ye  heard  of  our  hunting,  o'er  mountain  and  glen  — 
Through  cane-brake  and  forest  —  the  hunting  of  men? 

WHITTIER. 

WHEN  Shakespeare  introduced  the  sol 
dier  as  one  of  his  "seven  ages,"  he  did 
not  necessarily  mean  a  man  who  actu 
ally  shouldered  an  arquebus  to  follow  a  tattered 
banner  through  Flanders,  and  be  finally  borne 
off  on  a  litter,  leaving  one  leg  on  the  field  of  battle. 
He  merely  recognized  the  Hotspur  age,  when  the 
venturous  spirit  of  youth,  scoffing  at  danger,  burns 
to  go  forth  to  try  its  mettle  in  conquest  of  the 
world  (which  is  himself).  No  further  apology  will 
be  offered  for  these  chapters  on  the  soldiership 
of  our  heroes.  Neither  Paine  nor  Leonard  went 
about  seeking  the  bubble  reputation  in  the  can 
non's  mouth.  No  deeds  of  gore  and  glory  by  either 
are  handed  down  to  their  posterity.  Leonard  did 
not  march  out  to  Concord  Bridge  with  the  red 
coats  nor  did  Paine  go  through  the  winter  at 
Valley  Forge.  Yet  both  saw  enough  of  the  hor- 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


rors  of  battle  not  to  jest  at  scars.  Paine  served 
as  chaplain  at  Crown  Point,  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  ministering  to  tomahawked  and 
arrow-pierced  soldiers,  and  preaching  burial  ser 
mons  over  their  graves.  Leonard  stood  on  a  house- 
roof  at  Copp's  Hill,  watching  a  red  line  of  British 
soldiers  falling  under  the  fire  of  the  Provincial 
farmers  behind  the  old  rail  fence  beyond  the  river 
at  Charlestown.  That  was  as  close  as  either  came 
to  the  smell  of  gunpowder  and  the  whistle  of  bul 
lets.  Leonard  bore  the  title  of  colonel  many  years, 
though  rather  in  a  Kentuckian  sense.  Paine  was 
a  soldier  of  fortune. 

Paine  was  better  equipped  to  enlist  in  the  navy 
than  the  army.  The  magic  of  the  sea  touched  him 
in  childhood,  as  he  beheld  the  white  sails  coming 
and  going  in  Boston  Bay.  Cape  Cod  blood  running 
in  his  veins  set  the  Wanderlust  upon  him.  He  longed 
to  explore  the  seas  in  his  father's  vessels  for  gain 
or  adventure,  as  well  as  to  restore  his  fluctuating 
health.1  In  school-days,  he  had  sailed  along  the 
North  Shore  as  far  as  Falmouth  and  Pemaquid 
to  visit  ancestral  property,  and  farther  on  to 
his  father's  branch  office  at  Halifax.  In  his  first 
trip  to  Carolina,  though  he  passed  the  entire  voy 
age  of  two  weeks  in  his  bunk,  he  reached  port 
still  manfully  determined  to  master  the  art  of 

1  He  quit  the  sea  with  health  mended,  blood  quickened, 
skin  toughened,  and  nerves  nourished. 

I  108] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

navigation.  On  the  return  trip,  having  found  his 
sea-legs,  learned  the  ropes,  and  gotten  his  nautical 
bearings,  he  could  resist  no  longer  the  call  of 
the  mermaids.  The  next  year,  1753,  the  Boston 
"Centinel"  announced  that  the  sloop  Dolphin 
(Captain  Paine),  with  cargo  of  brick  and  staves, 
had  cleared  at  the  port  of  Boston.  She  was  to 
bring  back  from  Newbern,  Carolina,  a  cargo  of 
tar  and  turpentine.  On  this  voyage  an  episode 
occurred.  In  a  small  pirogue  named  Moses,  Paine 
sailed  up  the  creeks  inland,  into  the  region  of 
Raleigh's  lost  colony,  and  bought  up  casks  of  tar 
until  he  had  enough  to  fill  the  sloop's  hold.  If 
charged  more  than  he  was  inclined  to  pay  for 
bringing  the  casks  down  in  boats,  Paine  had  an 
idea  of  forming  a  raft  with  rope  coiled  in  the 
stern  of  his  boat.  The  planters  laughed,  but  a 
youth  of  twenty  is  fertile  in  resources.  He  strapped 
forty-four  tar  barrels  in  a  raft  and  on  high  tide 
started  them  downstream.  At  first  all  went  well; 
the  casks  kept  in  the  channel  as  the  ebb  tide  took 
them  toward  the  sea.  Paine  stood  at  the  stern 
of  his  boat,  steering  and  directing  the  sailors  at 
the  thwarts.  They  floated  down  until  slack  water, 
when  stumps  in  the  creek  became  so  thick  they 
could  make  no  headway.  A  hurricane  set  in,  and 
before  the  next  ebb  tide,  night  was  upon  them; 
but  the  raft  was  still  intact  and  out  of  danger. 
The  lanterns  being  lighted  for  a  warning,  folks 
[  109] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


along  the  shore  could  see  them  bobbing  about  all 
night;  passing  boatmen  hailed  the  young  captain 
with  gibes.  When  morning  broke,  casks  of  tar 
were  scattered  over  the  stream  like  wild  colts  es 
caped  from  a  corral.  The  tide  was  playing  havoc 
with  them,  and  from  the  shore  men  tauntingly 
inquired  how  he  enjoyed  rafting  tar  barrels. 
Shouting  and  cursing,  the  crew  took  boats  for  a 
round-up,  pursuing  each  separate  barrel.  Three 
days  later,  the  cargo  was  loaded  on  board  the 
sloop,  and  Cap'n  Paine  turned  in  for  a  long- 
delayed  sleep.  That  night  four  drunken  "tar- 
heels"  came  aboard  the  Dolphin  with  malicious 
intent.  The  captain  was  aroused,  and  in  his  keen- 
edged  nautical  vocabulary  ordered  the  boarders 
to  clear.  One  of  them  hit  him  on  the  cheek  with 
a  black  bottle,  giving  Paine  a  lifelong  reminder  of 
his  trip.  Twenty  years  later,  when  Josiah  Crocker 
of  Taunton  came  home  from  Philadelphia  and 
told  Mrs.  Paine  of  seeing  her  husband  there,  the 
wife  sat  down  and  wrote:  "I  hear  you  have  let 
your  hair  grow  long  and  I  suppose  I  shall  not 
know  you  when  you  return.  I  hope  the  scar  on 
your  face  will  look  the  same." 

Paine  landed  the  tar  barrels  safely  in  Boston. 
Though  the  market  was  slack,  and  profits  small, 
he  took  to  the  business  and  other  voyages  followed. 
Once  he  remained  away  for  nine  months,  buy 
ing  and  selling  commodities,  and,  incidentally, 
[  no] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

deer-hunting  with  rice-planters'  daughters.  Time 
slipped  by;  he  sent  home  letters  intimating  that 
"Sam  Duncan's  daughter"  was  making  life 
pleasant  for  him,  adding,  "I  sometimes  think  I 
should  remain  in  the  Carolinas  if  it  were  not  on 
the  borders  of  Purgatory." 

When,  the  last  of  November,  1 75  3 ,  he  came  home 
and  had  sold  his  cargo  to  advantage,  his  wander 
ing  spirit  prompted  a  trip  to  Europe.  For  several 
weeks  he  visited  the  wharves  and  searched  the 
"News-Letter"  and  "Post "for  a  seaworthy  ves 
sel.  At  length,  he  heard  of  a  sloop  of  thirty 
tons,  the  Hannah,  which  he  chartered  at  twenty 
pounds  a  month.  After  scraping  her  bottom,  tar 
ring  the  ropes,  salting  the  mast,  and  filling  the 
lazaretto  with  lobscouse,  hard-tack,  "tongues  and 
sounds,"  "salt  hoss,"  and  other  delicacies  of  a 
sailor's  "whack,"  Cap'n  Paine  secured  an  "Al- 
gerine  Pass";  piped  all  hands  on  deck;  asked  a 
blessing  on  the  trip,  and  weighed  anchor  for  Caro 
lina  carrying  a  load  of  brick,  meal,  ropes,  and 
pottery.  He  took  along  his  father's  negro  slave, 
"London,"  whom  he  afterwards  sold,  for  he  was 
bent  on  business  and  had  no  scruple  against  the 
traffic  in  "human  cattle." 

A  sloop  does  not  require  so  large  a  crew  as  a 
schooner;  but  there  is  more  strain  on  the  mast, 
which  gave  excitement  during  the  voyage  and 
compelled  a  sharp  eye  for  weather  changes. 

[ 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Thirty  days  after  leaving  Carolina,  he  sighted 
"phyall  Light."  Spending  a  few  days  at  Fayal,  he 
found  no  market  there  for  his  cargo  and  hoisted 
sail  for  Cadiz.  Marching  up  the  Calle  del  Ruiz,  he 
stared  at  the  strangeness  of  the  sights,  the  tiny 
sidewalks,  the  iron  grilles  of  the  stone  houses, 
through  which  senoritas  "sympdticas  y  graciosas  " 
were  peering  out  and  talking  in  musical  cadence. 
He  drank  his  sherry  to  the  dregs;  jumped  away 
from  the  lizards  which  sprang  from  the  trees  and 
walls  to  his  shoulders ;  went  to  bull-fights  (leaving 
his  strongbox  with  the  English  consul),  and  visited 
the  churches  to  behold  the  marvellous  paintings  of 
Murillo.  The  pesetas  and  Johannos  received  for 
his  cargo  did  not  jingle  long  in  his  pockets.  Turn 
ing  his  ready  money  into  oranges,  lemons,  figs, 
and  bottles  of  Madeira,  he  sailed  up  to  England, 
giving  the  coast  of  France  a  wide  berth,  lest  some 
French  privateer  should  capture  him  under  pre 
text  of  the  hostilities  then  existing  between  the 
two  countries.  In  London  he  bought  a  large  re 
peating  watch,  nowpreserved  in  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society's  collection.  The  colonial  fig 
ures  on  its  dial  seem  to  speak  of  that  wonderful 
city  which  would  appeal  to  the  mind  of  an  Amer 
ican  youth  of  twenty-four,  waxen  to  impression — 
the  London  of  George  II,  of  Goldsmith  and  Field 
ing,  Garrick  and  Sterne,  Reynolds  and  Johnson. 
No  sooner  had  he  reached  Boston,  greeted  his 

[    112] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

friends,  and  disposed  of  his  cargo,  than  he  must 
sail  again,  this  time  to  the  North  Atlantic  on  a 
whaling  voyage,  patterning  after  his  grandfather. 
He  was  master  of  the  good  ship  Seaflower,  and 
recorded  this  prayer  as  he  left  the  wharves  of  his 
native  town:  "And  so  God  send  good  success  to 
the  Seaflower  and  her  company."  He  took  aboard 
a  harpooner  at  Provincetown,  and  was  away  all 
summer. 

Again  let  us  pause  to  look  at  Paine,  now  aged 
twenty-four,  hunting  whales  off  Greenland.  In 
tarpaulins  and  billycock  hat,  beard  half-grown, 
he  gives  orders  to  his  crew.  Spy-glass  in  hand, 
he  mans  the  tiller,  or  from  the  rocking  crow's-nest 
shouts,  "Thar  she  blows."  He  orders  the  boats 
lowered  away,  the  line  paid  out.  His  keen  eye 
follows  the  harpooner  as  he  hurls  the  toggle-iron. 
He  is  towed  many  leagues,  often  in  danger  of 
being  upset.  When  the  whale  is  made  fast  along 
side,  he  superintends  cutting  the  blubber  and 
trying  it  out  in  vats  on  board.  In  the  fall  he  re 
turns  with  a  fare  of  oil,  whalebone,  and  amber 
gris,  of  which  the  lay  gives  him  a  comfortable 
profit. 

The  rough  crew  were  hardly  companions  for 
the  captain.  On  these  voyages  we  imagine  Paine 
sat  much  by  himself,  watching  Mother  Carey's 
chickens  chattering  in  his  wake,  on  the  trailing 
meadows  of  sargasso,  the  playful  dolphins,  the 
[  113  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


monster  "leather-back,"  or  flying-fish  shimmer 
ing  over  the  waves  to  fall  helplessly  upon  his  deck. 
He  likely  repeated  the  Latin  proverb  —  "Nun- 
quam  minus  solus  quam  solus"  or  after  nightfall 
sang  some  favorite  chanty,  or  better,  hummed 
Addison's  grand  hymn  to  the  stars : 

"Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  is  Divine." 

At  sea,  in  a  raging  storm,  lashed  to  a  mast  or 
wrestling  with  the  helm,  as  the  lightning  flashes, 
and  seas  rush  over  the  deck  (at  any  moment  liable 
to  be  sent  to  Davy  Jones's  locker) ;  then,  if  ever, 
the  awakened  spirit  is  aroused  to  prayer  and  a 
vision  of  eternal  truths  and  begets  the  missionary 
impulse.  After  two  years  of  deep-water  medita 
tions,  and  communion  with  the  infinite  loneliness 
of  waves  and  stars,  the  clerical  instinct  implanted 
in  him  asserted  itself.  Did  not  the  clergy  keep  the 
torch  of  enlightenment  from  flickering  out  ?  he 
reasoned.  Was  there  not  a  vast  company  in  every 
community  who  would  rather  say  "amen"  than 
think  out  problems  for  themselves  ?  The  minister 
was  a  leader,  the  inspirer  of  moral,  social,  and  edu 
cational  activities;  he  prepared  youths  for  college; 
enjoyed  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  emotional 
women;  knew  many  family  secrets;  was  granted 
a  parsonage,  where  he  welcomed  donation  parties 
bringing  provisions,  clothes,  firewood,  rings,  and 

[  "4  1 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

gloves;  was  allowed  the  sacred  privilege  of  pas 
turing  his  horse  in  the  town  cemetery,  and  con 
tinued  forty,  fifty,  sixty  years  in  the  pulpit,  some 
times  until  the  Bible  was  pushed  off  the  desk  by 
palsied  fingers. 

So  Paine  came  home  from  the  sea  to  preach. 
His  ancestors  had  fed  on  sermons.  He  was  born 
with  a  text  on  his  tongue;  he  had  studied  faith 
fully,  and  lived  as  a  conventional  Bostonian, 
"diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the 
Lord."  Preaching  was  his  hereditary  calling;  and 
the  hopes  of  grandmother,  father,  uncle,  and  sis 
ters  centred  on  this.  He  had  been  acquiring  the 
ministerial  habit  for  years,  but  the  final  train 
ing  was  given  by  his  mother's  relative,  Rev.  Mr. 
Willard,  at  Lancaster,  with  whom  he  studied  the 
ology  through  one  winter.  Occasionally  trying  his 
powers  in  the  neighboring  pulpits,  he  presently 
secured  a  six  weeks'  charge  at  Shirley  before  the 
days  of  the  Shaker  invasion.  The  few  people  there 
were  poor  and  had  been  attending  church  at  Gro- 
ton.  They  found  it  a  hardship  to  ford  Squanna- 
cook  River  in  their  Sunday  clothes ;  consequently 
Shirley  was  set  off  as  a  separate  parish  in  1752. 
When  Paine  preached  there  in  the  spring  of  1755, 
a  part  of  the  small  congregation  was  obliged  to 
stand,  for  the  rude  benches  of  the  new  meeting 
house  were  insufficient  for  his  audience. 

He  wrote: 

[  US'  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


I  find  my  present  church  in  the  middle  of  thirty 
acres  of  scrub  wood.  Upon  my  appearance,  the 
people,  who  were  sunning  themselves  under  the  trees, 
repaired  to  the  seats,  and  I  preached  with  satisfac 
tion  to  them. 

Here  again  we  see  the  youthful  Paine,  in  white 
lappet  and  wristbands,  blowing  a  horn  to  call  his 
congregation  together;  preaching  "satisfactory" 
sermons;  bowing  in  prayer  while  the  venerable 
deacons  stand  at  the  ends  of  the  pews ;  and  lining 
out  the  psalm  from  the  Bay  Psalm  Book,  "The 
tidings  strike  a  doleful  sound."  As  preacher  he 
was  one  step  higher  in  dignity  and  standing  than 
as  teacher.  The  transient  title  of  "Reverend" 
was  probably  used  chiefly  by  his  sisters.  We  find 
no  record  that  he  was  ever  ordained.  When  he 
stepped  from  the  pulpit,  he  demitted  the  title 
and  such  emoluments  as  the  people  gave  their 
ministers. 

Shirley  and  Lunenburg  were  on  the  "Crown 
Point  Road,"  the  old  Indian  trail  from  Boston 
to  Canada.  Paine  saw  the  soldiers  passing  along 
this  thoroughfare  in  the  expeditions  against  French 
and  Indians,  and  was  infected  with  the  military 
contagion  so  prevalent  in  the  rival  colonies.  In 
the  summer  of  1755,  a  large  fleet  left  France  with 
soldiers  for  America  to  renew  the  contest  for  this 
continent.  Interference  with  the  fisheries  was  sap 
ping  the  life-blood  of  New  England.  The  French, 
[  116] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

erecting  a  series  of  fortresses  from  Quebec  to 
New  Orleans,  had  aroused  the  enmity  of  the  sea 
board  English  toward  them. 

A  colonial  conference  had  been  held  at  Albany 
in  1754,  upon  the  initiation  of  the  far-sighted 
Franklin,  to  prevent  the  French  from  uniting 
Canada  and  New  Orleans.  At  a  conference  at 
Alexandria,  in  the  summer  of  1755,  it  was  re 
solved  to  reduce  Forts  Duquesne,  Niagara,  and 
Crown  Point.  Baron  Dieskau  was  in  command 
of  the  French  Canadians  and  Indians  who  were 
coming  down  through  Lake  Champlain.  Among 
three  thousand  colonial  English  troops  joining 
in  an  expedition  against  the  French  and  Indians 
were  John  Stark,  Governor  Shirley,  "Old  Put," 
and  Timothy  Ruggles.  One  regiment  was  under 
Paine's  relative,  Colonel  Samuel  Willard.  The 
young  parson  was  eager  for  adventure  and 
schemed  for  a  military  chaplaincy.  In  August, 
1755,  while  at  Shirley,  his  wish  was  realized: 

To  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Gent'n,  Greeting. 

Reposing  especial  Trust  and,  Confidence  in  your 
Loyalty,  Piety  and  Learning,  I  do  by  these  presents, 
constitute  and  appoint  you,  the  said  Rob't  Treat 
Paine,  to  be  chaplain  of  a  Regiment  of  Foot,  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Samuel  Willard,  being  the 
forces  now  raising  for  reinforcing  the  Troops  against 
Crown  Point,  of  which  Major  General  Johnson  is 
Commander-in-Chief. 

I  "7] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


You  are  therefore,  carefully  and  diligently  to  do 
and  perform  the  duty  of  Chaplain  to  the  said  Regi 
ment,  by  your  Public  Prayers,  Preaching  and  Pri 
vate  Exhortation,  visiting  the  sick,  and  in  all  things 
as  becometh  you;  and  you  are  to  follow  such  orders 
and  instructions  as  you  shall  from  time  to  time 
receive  from  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  said 
expedition,  or  other  your  superior  officers,  for  which 
this  is  your  warrant. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Cambridge  this 
8th  day  of  August,  1755,  in  the  29th  year  of  His 
Majesty's  reign. 
S.  PHIPS, 

by  T.  CLARK,  Dep.  Secretary. 

The  appointment  received,  Paine  departed 
the  first  of  September,  1755,  to  be  a  part  of  the 
army  life  for  four  months,  and  possibly  to  enjoy, 
at  Albany,  the  company  of  the  Van  Rensselaers, 
Schuylers,  Livingstons,  and  others,  to  whom  his 
standing  might  give  him  introduction* 

To  those  who  thrill  with  the  memories  of  camp- 
life  —  the  romance  of  sleeping  under  star-lighted 
skies  on  balsam  boughs ;  fishing  for  bass  and  wall 
eyed  pike;  cooking  rabbits  and  quail  in  skillets 
over  fagot  fires;  fighting  black  flies  and  mosqui 
toes;  skylarking  through  the  night;  contracting 
chills  and  fever ;  and  foregoing  improved  domes 
tic  conveniences  of  civilization,  —  the  luck  of  this 
adventurous  youth  seems  enviable,  as  he  starts 
[118] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

off  to  join  that  memorable  expedition  in  which  he 
found  novelty,  excitement,  and  service.  The  lakes 
and  mountains  of  this  Vermont  valley  constitute 
a  scenery  as  romantic  as  any  in  America.  It  was 
bounteous  in  its  physical  gifts  then  as  now.1  To 
Paine's  joy  in  camping-out  was  added  a  spice  of 
danger.  Savage  shrieks  and  war-whoops  came 
ululating  across  the  lake,  piercing  the  stillness  of 
the  night.  There  was  always  danger  of  sudden 
ambuscade^  and  of  being  burned  or  eaten  by 
furious  red  skins.  It  was  impossible  to  restrain 
the  savages  within  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare. 
Prisoners  on  both  sides  were  made  away  with  as 
an  economic  measure.  The  English  commander- 
in-chief  was  Sir  William  Johnson,  a  fine,  wild  Irish 
man  who  had  lived  many  years  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk  as  a  chief.  Dancing  the  war-dance,  talk 
ing  readily  in  the  native  language,  figuring  as  the 
groom  in  several  interracial  marriages,  he  had 
acquired  great  power. 

On  the  first  of  September,  1755,  Paine,  with 
musket  and  blanket,  mounted  his  war-horse,  and 
set  out  on  his  crusade,  singing  the  mighty  songs 
of  Zion.  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  founder  of 
Williams  College  and  commander  of  the  New 

1  The  Mohawks,  who  frequented  it,  were  of  such  physical  per 
fection  that  once  a  hasty,  unthinking,  provincial  New  Yorker, 
travelling  in  Rome,  exclaimed,  as  he  looked  upon  Apollo  Bel 
vedere,  "By  Heaven,  a  young  Mohawk  warrior!" 

t 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


England  troops,  wrote  home  during  the  cam 
paign: 

We  are  a  wicked,  profane  army,  especially  the 
New  York  and  Rhode  Island  troops.  Nothing  to  be 
heard  among  a  great  part  of  them  but  the  language 
of  Hell. 

Prayers,  sermons,  and  psalm-singing  were  confined 
chiefly  to  the  Massachusetts  soldiers.  Paine  ar 
rived  in  time  to  bury  the  dead  after  the  engage 
ment  in  which  Baron  Dieskau  was  severely 
wounded  and  Colonel  Williams  killed.  The  ex 
perience  of  this  excursion  is  told  in  a  whimsical, 
abridged  letter,  suggesting  an  acquaintance  with 
Dean  Swift  and  Rabelais,  which  the  young  minis 
ter  sent  home  in  November,  1755: 

About  the  latter  end  of  summer,  I  sat  out  accom 
panied  with  some  persons  of  quality,  each  one  pro 
perly  accoutred  with  firearms  and  blankets.  I  shall 
not  trouble  you  with  occurrences  near  home  —  every 
one  meets  with  them  —  but  after  a  travel  of  some 
days  we  came  into  a  fine  country,  where  the  earth 
was  covered  with  produce  not  indebted  to  ye  labor 
of  ye  husbandman.  The  highways  through  this 
country  are  laid  out  in  a  very  spacious  manner,  being 
in  most  places  20,  30,  yea  100  feet  wide,  and  in  many 
places  very  plentifully  paved;  but  the  country  being 
new,  the  paving  work  seems  not  to  be  completed,  for 
so  many  places  the  rich  fat  soil  proves  very  offen 
sive  to  the  foot  of  the  travailer;  however,  there  is 
[  120] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

abundant  provision  for  water,  which  is  so  situated 
that  a  foot-traveler  cannot  avoid  washing  himself. 
After  a  long  travel,  we  came  to  a  city  so  extraor 
dinary  it  deserves  the  minutest  description.  We 
arrived  about  dark  and  took  quarters  at  a  friend's 
house  for  some  considerable  time.  This  wonderful 
city  by  enquiry  I  learned  has  not  been  long  known 
to  our  part  of  the  world,  yet  has  very  lately  settled 
a  considerable  correspondence  that  way.  'T  is  very 
secretly  seated  between  two  long  ranges  of  lofty 
mountains,  capable  of  being  discovered  by  none 
distant  except  the  sun,  who  in  his  meridian  altitude 
peeps  through  the  clouds  of  smoke  and  sulphurous 
vapors  that  frequently  overhang  this  place.  It 
stands  at  the  head  of  a  long  narrow  lake,  whose 
stagnant  waters  afford  but  a  livid  prospect;  't  is 
said  by  some  that  it  leads  directly  to  Purgatory  at 
the  other  end,  and  so  one  would  think  to  see  the 
innumerable  ferry  boats  which  we  have  prepared 
to  waft  the  inhabitants  forward.  The  land  here  is 
not  tilled,  though  it  is  excellently  manured,  they 
raise  no  provision  but  have  it  transported  from  other 
parts  that  at  times  you  would  think  you  were  in 
Lubberland  and  again  that  you  were  on  a  maroon 
island.  The  no.  of  inhabitants  it  is  impossible  to 
tell,  as,  for  like  the  Ocean  't  is  perpetually  chang 
ing  without  any  sign  of  stability.  The  inhabitants 
I  observe  are  chiefly  males,  for  't  is  said  the  women 
that  come  here  all  turn  to  men  immediately,  so  that 
this  place  seems  to  put  on  opposition  to  the  land  of 
the  Amazons,  and  as  they  mark  themselves  by  cut- 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ting  off  the  right  breast  for  the  convenience  of  shoot 
ing  the  bow,  these  are  no  less  remarkable  for  cutting 
off  natural  affection  for  the  convenience  of  living 
careless  lives. 

Upon  my  first  arrival,  I  found  only  a  small  tract 
of  abt  22  acres  compactly  settled  and  the  inhabit 
ants  strictly  confined  within  these  narrow  limits, 
but  after  a  while  the  strangest  phenomena  appeared 
that  has  ever  been  heard  of  since  the  men  that  were 
produced  from  the  serpent's  teeth.  Multitudes 
seemed  to  be  produced  immediately  —  whether 
't  was  the  clouds,  the  lake,  the  fog,  or  the  earth  that 
swarmed  forth  inhabitants  't  were  hard  to  tell,  they 
pitched  their  residence  somewhat  distant  from  the 
old  city,  when  Nature,  that  spontaneously  produced 
men  seemed  as  fertile  in  habitations.  In  the  course 
of  one  night  whole  streets  of  houses  would  spring 
up  out  of  the  earth  and  the  rubbish  of  the  wilderness 
rise  up  into  beauteous  towns.  So  that  in  a  short 
space  of  time  a  new  city  was  found  exceeding  in 
cleanness  and  nearly  equal  for  numbers  to  the  for 
mer.  But  who  can  describe  the  various  accomoda- 
tions  and  conveniences  of  living  used  in  this  place? 
in  one  part  you  might  behold  rows  of  habitations 
appearing  like  whited  sepulchres,  the  same  stuff 
that  among  us  proves  fatal  to  villains,  here  screens 
them  from  trouble;  in  another  place  you  might  see  a 
cave  or  hole  in  the  rocks;  some  huge  poles  of  brush 
and  dirt  served  to  fend  off  the  cold  and  rain  — 
others  had  long  rows  of  buildings  that  much  resem 
ble  our  meeting-house  sheds;  but  the  better  sort  of 
[  122  ] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

people  have  houses  built  according  to  certain  rules 
of  architecture  in  practice  here;  the  doors  are  low 
and  the  roofs  level,  some  spread  them  with  hides 
and  sheep-skins,  though  others  neglect  it  for  the 
benefit  of  the  light  —  their  windows  are  made 
lengthwise  and  some  reach  from  side  to  side;  there 
are  very  few  that  wainscot,  paper  or  plaister  their 
rooms,  by  reason  they  prefer  the  pine  scented  bal 
sam  their  timber  affords.  Their  lodging  is  various, 
some  using  an  artificial  couch  and  others  preferring 
the  feathers  the  land  produces,  so  that  truly  may  it 
be  said  of  some  that  their  houses  are  fir  and  their  bed 
is  green.  As  for  their  food,  they  go  much  on  roast 
meat,  and  therefore,  they  are  generally  provided  with 
spits  which  some  hang  on  a  part  of  their  apparel. 
Others  again  eat  a  sort  of  bread  called  by  them  allow- 
ance,  which  is  a  medley  of  almost  everything,  and 
agrees  well  with  their  constitutions,  but  when  any  of 
the  parts  are  wanting,  especially  some  that  are  called 
essential,  it  produces  strange  effects,  breeding  flatu 
lency  in  the  bowels,  maggots  in  the  brain,  delusion, 
distraction,  strange  volubility  of  tongue  and  disaf 
fection  among  intimates.  As  for  their  apparel,  that 
likewise  is  very  various,  tho'  there  seems  to  be  no 
standard  which,  different  from  other  parts  of  the 
world,  is  inimitable.  'T  is  customary  for  men  of 
dispatch  to  have  their  Hatts  shod  with  gold  and  sil 
ver  (that  being  an  article  they  have  no  other  use  for 
here)  in  order  to  cut  the  fog  and  smoke  which  would 
otherwise  much  impede  their  passage.  Some  wear 
long  tails  to  their  wiggs,  wh  is  found  very  beneficial 
[  123  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


here  to  steady  their  heads;  there  are  some  few  such 
enemies  to  dirt  (the  natural  product  of  the  place) 
that  they  continually  carry  their  towels  near  their 
hands.  There  is  one  particular  which  I  could  not 
determine,  whether  it  was  peculiar  to  their  Bodies 
or  whether  it  was  part  of  their  apparell  and  that  is 
a  large  horn  generally  growing  on  the  right  side. 
'T  would  be  natural  to  think  it  a  real  part  of  their 
body  if  it  grew  on  their  heads,  but  it  is  generally 
thought  by  strangers  to  be  an  excresence,  for  upon 
examination  they  are  found  to  contain  a  sort  of 
black,  subtile  penetrating  powder  no  ways  akin  to 
their  constitutions,  tho'  some  have  said  that  this  is 
their  brains,  and  because  it  is  observed  they  have 
another  instrument  of  strange  form  and  composition 
with  wch  only  they  hold  arguments  and  disputes; 
and  't  is  seen  that  when  they  use  them  they  put  this 
powerful  Trade  into  it  which  renders  their  argument 
very  penetrating  and  when  they  argue  matters  of 
consequence  they  add  a  small  leaden  composition, 
taken  from  a  neighboring  receptacle  to  this  brain, 
wh  often  renders  their  arguments  decisive  &  hence 
't  is  inferred  that  leaden  brained  men  are  most  suit 
able  inhabitants  of  this  city.  Everything  here  is  done 
by  the  sound  of  bells,  but  then  they  are  different 
from  ours,  being  a  composition  of  wood  and  leather 
and  are  carried  about  for  various  uses;  early  in  the 
morning  you'll  hear  them  sounding  all  about,  upon 
which  the  inhabitants  begin  to  muster;  ab't  an  hour 
after,  they  sound  again  at  stated  places,  upon  which 
there  walks  out  one  of  a  different  garb  from  all  the 

[124] 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

rest.  I  should  not  have  judged  him  an  inhabitant, 
or  anything  but  a  deity  here,  and  after  standing  a 
while  in  ye  stated  place,  ye  people  gathered  about 
him,  he  stood  a  while  and  said  something,  but  by 
comparing  his  looks  with  that  of  the  bystanders,  I 
could  not  make  out  what  he  was  after.  By  the  sound 
of  these  bells  you  see  them  moving  back  and  forth, 
great  numbers  of  them  moving  on  to  a  certain  place, 
where  't  was  said  they  were  employed  in  work  of 
great  importance.  I  went  with  them  and  saw  a  large 
pile  of  dirt  and  wood  wh  the  people  were  tumbling 
and  tossing  about,  which  resembled  a  Pismire's  hill 
the  nearest  of  anything,  for  'twas  said  they  pro 
posed  to  lay  up  food  there  for  the  winter.  This 
seemed  to  be  their  chief  employment,  except  some 
that  stood  at  distance  round  them  to  give  notice  of 
the  appearance  of  any  enemy. 

This  expedition  against  Crown  Point  was  a 
failure.  The  enemy  might  have  been  whipped  in 
open  battle,  but  cold,  disease,  and  hunger  were 
more  than  a  match  for  Sir  William  Johnson's 
ill-equipped,  ill-fed  army.  Many  deserted  when 
November  winds  began  to  chill  their  bones.  The 
army  broke  camp  in  December  and  retreat  was 
sounded  till  a  more  auspicious  season.  Paine  left 
his  relative,  Samuel  Willard,  buried  on  the  field 
of  battle,  and,  after  stopping  over  at  Springfield 
to  take  part  in  the  wedding  of  a  college  friend, 
arrived  in  Boston  on  New  Year's  Day.  Those 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


four  months  of  life  with  an  army  in  the  mountains 
had  a  new  influence  upon  him. 

We  do  not  hear  more  of  Paine  as  a  clergy 
man  (though  he  continued  to  look  like  one),  and 
was  always  thereafter  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
"Amen  Corner."  His  was  a  religious  life.  He  fol 
lowed  beaten  paths  until  he  began  to  think  for 
himself,  when  he  developed  a  strong  tendency 
to  individualize.  Only  for  a  few  months  as  an  of 
ficer  of  the  established  church  did  he  feel  respons 
ible  for  the  beliefs  of  others ;  as  layman,  his  own 
beliefs  expanded  with  his  political  views.  His 
temperament  was  not  adapted  to  the  staid  sobri 
ety  of  the  cloth.  A  doubt  arose  as  to  whether  he 
was  made  for  the  orthodox  pulpit  when  he  read 
Bolingbroke,  Hume,  Gibbon  (especially  his  twelfth 
chapter),  Voltaire,  and  Diderot.  As  with  John 
Adams,  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism  seemed  harsh 
to  his  reasoning  mind.  He  was  suspected  of  Ar- 
minian  leanings.  Fate  had  other  work  for  him, 
or  he  might  have  spent  his  days  as  a  respectable, 
conventional,  well-to-do  parson  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  with  his  name  long  since  drifted  quietly 
down  the  harbor  of  memory  out  into  the  sea  of 
oblivion. 

Soon  after  Paine's  return  from  Crown  Point, 
Colonel  Washington,  fresh  from  Braddock's  de 
feat  on  the  Ohio,  came  up  to  Boston  (which  then 
covered  780  acres,  not  so  large  a  territory  as 


Adventures  by  Sea  and  Forest 

his  brother's  plantation  at  Mount  Vernon)  and 
stopped  at  the  Cromwell's  Head  Tavern,  a  few 
doors  from  Paine's  home  on  School  Street.  Pre 
sumably,  Colonel  Washington  and  Captain  Paine 
exchanged  their  experiences  in  the  recent  cam 
paigns,  and  commenced  a  friendship  which,  ten 
years  later,  wras  renewed  on  a  more  important 
occasion.1 

1  Parson  Weems  records  that  the  only  person  who  ever  got 
the  best  of  Washington  in  personal  combat  was  a  man  named 
"  Paine. "  But  that  was  at  Alexandria. 


CHAPTER   VII 
A  Family  of  Colonels 

You  may  relish  him  more  in  the  soldier  than  in  the  scholar.  —  Othello. 

A  THIRST  for  military  glory  is  the  vice  of 
the  most  exalted  characters,"  declares  the 
historian  Gibbon.  During  the  ambitious 
days  of  the  Civil  War,  Artemus  Ward  referred 
to  a  regiment  composed  entirely  of  colonels,  save 
a  single  private.  The  title  of  colonel  sat  jaun 
tily  on  a  Leonard.  In  the  first  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  New  England's  history,  when  the 
law  obliged  every  man  to  keep  by  him  flintlock, 
knapsack,  and  ammunition  (being  subject  to  mil 
itary  duty),  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  competed 
with  the  parson  as  the  foremost  citizen.  The 
Leonards,  in  their  fondness  for  office-holding,  did 
not  overlook  these  military  positions ;  nearly  every 
head  of  this  family  held  some  sort  of  martial 
rank;  James  was  exempted  from  service  in  1662, 
being  a  "bloomer"  who  made  iron  implements 
of  warfare.  Ensign  Leonard  paid  his  soldiers  in 
bar  iron  after  Philip's  War.  Thomas  Leonard  was 
captain  of  the  First  Company  in  1691 ;  James, 
first  lieutenant,  and  George,  captain.  Thomas, 
in  1709,  was  appointed  major,  by  which  title  he 
was  distinguished  from  his  son  —  Colonel  George. 


A  Family  of  Colonels 


Ephraim,  son  of  the  major,  became  colonel  in 
1757;  in  1772,  his  son,  our  Daniel,  was  elected 
lieutenant-colonel  of  this  regiment  and  known  as 
"Colonel  Leonard"  until,  in  Bermuda  days,  he 
exchanged  this  title  for  "Judge."  The  field  offi 
cers  of  the  Taunton  Regiment  in  1762  were:  Sam 
uel  White,  colonel;  George  Leonard,  lieutenant- 
colonel;  Thomas  Mowry  and  Seth  Williams, 
majors.  In  1772,  the  field  officers  were:  George 
Leonard,  colonel;  Daniel  Leonard,  lieutenant- 
colonel;  George  Williams  and  Apollos  Leonard, 
majors. 

Every  boy  instinctively  plays  "soldier,"  more 
-particularly  when  the  son  and  nephew  of  colonels. 
The  glitter  of  military  glory  naturally  appealed 
to  Daniel,  who,  as  a  boy,  attended  the  muster  of 
the  trainbands  and  followed  their  manoeuvres 
studiously.  As  George  Washington,  in  youth, 
drilled  and  marshalled  his  play-fellows  about 
Fairfax  Court-House,  so  we  see  Daniel,  imitating 
his  elders,  holding  miniature  reviews  on  muster- 
day  behind  the  horse-sheds  at  Oakland,  Norton, 
or  Taunton  Green,  passing  the  countersign  and 
leading  his  boy  brigade,  armed  with  brooms,  hoe- 
handles,  and  cordwood  sticks,  and  topped  with 
paper  helmets,  as  they  march,  "hay  foot,  straw 
foot,"  about  the  field  or  charge  helter-skelter  into 
a  flock  of  sheep,  or  the  fruit  trees  of  a  neighbor's 
orchard. 

[  129  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Washington,  honored  for  his  brilliant  conduct 
on  the  Braddock  retreat,  coming  to  visit  Governor 
Shirley  in  1756,  aroused  enthusiasm  for  war  among 
the  rising  generation.  Daniel  was  sixteen,  when 
that  serious-minded  young  Virginian  visited  Bos 
ton.  Colonel  Washington  was  a  commanding 
figure,  in  his  uniform  of  buff  and  blue.  Some  older 
person  often  seems  to  be  the  realization  of  unful 
filled  ideals,  and  let  us  imagine  young  Leonard, 
about  to  enter  Harvard,  filled  with  emulation  at 
the  sight  of  the  illustrious  Southerner. 

The  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war  especially 
charm  a  youth  in  his  teens.  While  at  college,  the 
story  of  Wolfe  at  Quebec  fired  the  students  to 
form  military  companies.  By  virtue  of  his  class 
rank,  to  which  attention  has  been  already  called, 
Daniel  was  second  in  command  of  the  "Harvard 
Fencibles,"  who  exercised  much  as  the  High 
School  Cadets  do  now,  parading  once  a  week 
upon  the  Common.  Fresh  from  classic  studies 
he  marched  around  Cambridge  with  visions  of 
Caesar  exhorting  his  legions  in  Britain,  or  Xeno- 
phon  leading  the  Ten  Thousand  back  to  the  Hel 
lespont. 

During  his  legislative  career,  he  was  elected 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  local  regiment,  Governor 
Hutchinson  nodding  assent.  Leonard,  who  was 
his  father  and  grandfather  polished  up,  naturally 
sought  this  position,  since  so  many  of  his  own 

[130] 


GOVERNOR    THOMAS    HUTCHIXSOX 


A  Family  of  Colonels 


family  and  connections  were  officers.  In  his  early 
thirties,  he  makes  a  bright  picture  in  his  scar 
let  coat,  buckskin  breeches,  nankeen  waistcoat, 
silver-hiked  sword,  and  white-topped  boots.  We 
can  see  him  as  he  deploys  the  platoons  of  militia 
around  the  Green  at  the  summer  muster,  while 
the  "women  folks"  stuff  tow  in  their  ears  to  shut 
out  the  "horrid  rattle  of  the  drums";  or  as  he 
visits  the  temporary  booths  to  purchase  the  mus 
ter  refreshments  of  gingerbread  and  new  rum; 
or  gallantly  offers  his  snuff-box  —  "If  you  please, 
my  lady"  —  while  a  curtsey  is  dropped  in 
answer. 

As  the  Revolution  came  on,  the  Leonards  were 
divided  in  allegiance  —  the  townsfolk  whispered 
that  it  was  to  preserve  their  property,  on  which 
ever  side  the  fortunes  of  the  war  should  fall. 
When  Daniel  was  besieged  in  Boston,  he  was  not 
listed  among  the  officers  of  "The  Royal  Ameri 
can  Associators"  (as  the  regiment  of  gentleman 
volunteers  under  Brigadier  Ruggles  was  called).1 
When  Washington  tightened  his  siege-lines,  in 
the  winter  of  1775-76,  Leonard  was  drafted  in 
Boston  among  several  thousands  who  saw  no 
service,  for  General  Gage  raised  the  siege  by  flight. 
Apparently  Leonard  lacked  heart  to  take  arms 

1  These  troops  drilled  every  morning  on  the  Common,  wear 
ing  white  sashes  on  the  left  arm  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
King's  Regulars. 

[  131] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


against  his  family,  although  he  would  not  have 
been  the  first  to  do  so,  for  his  cousin,  Colonel 
George,  had  commanded  a  brigade  which  cap 
tured  vessels  in  Somerset,  attacked  Fall  River,  laid 
Nantucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard  under  trib 
ute,  and  was  about  to  sail  up  the  river  and  treat 
Taunton  in  the  same  way,  when  it  was  fortunately 
repulsed  by  Colonel  Durfee. 

We  find  a  military  phase  in  Leonard's  career, 
but  he  was  more  celebrated  on  dress-parade 
than  in  the  imminent  deadly  breach.  In  soldier 
ship,  he  was  little  akin  to  bluff  Putnam,  polished 
Prescott,  scholarly  Dr.  Warren,  or  rugged  John 
Stark.  During  the  siege  of  Boston,  the  office  of 
Solicitor  gave  him  entree  to  the  inner  circle  of 
big-wigs  there,  several  of  whom  were  scions  of 
noble  families.  Congenial  company  were  some 
of  these :  Earl  Percy,  living  handsomely  in  a  house 
overlooking  the  Common;  the  dashing  Major 
Andre,  whose  wish  to  live  and  die  distinguished 
was  so  tragically  fulfilled;  Major  Pitcairn,  who 
bragged  that  he  would  stir  the  Yankee  blood  as 
he  stirred  his  toddy  in  a  Concord  tumbler;  the 
playwright,  Burgoyne,  a  kindred  spirit;  Generals 
Howe  and  Clinton  and  Governor  Gage,  who  knew 
Leonard  well  and  writes  of  him  as  a  "very  re 
spectable  man." 

To  organize  an  army  for  a  successful  campaign, 
a  trinity  of  weapons  must  cooperate  —  the  sword, 

[  132] 


A  Family  of  Colonels 


the  tongue,  and  the  pen  are  in  request.  Trum- 
bull  spoke  of  Leonard  as  the  "scribbler-general." 
In  the  Civil  War,  Lowell's  pen  was  "worth  a  brig 
ade  of  soldiers."  Any  one  could  fight,  but  few 
could  inspire  courage  by  writing.  Leonard  did 
not  lay  himself  open  to  the  charge  of  being  wholly 
a  summer  soldier;  he  felt  that  he  could  wield 
the  pen  more  skilfully  than  the  sword,  and  he  put 
it  into  active  service  for  the  Tory  cause. 


AND  THEN  THE  LOVER 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Hanging  the  Shingles 

I  never  was  ruined  but  twice;  once  when  I  lost  a  lawsuit  and  once 
when  I  gained  one.  —  VOLTAIRE. 

THE  same  Emerson  who  had  complained 
of  being  a  "victim  of  miscellany"  gave 
these  hints  to  a  young  man  seeking  his 
counsel:  "Teach  a  little,  farm  a  while,  drive  a 
tin-peddler's  cart  a  season,  keep  store,  go  to 
Congress,  preach  a  year,  and  lead  the  experi 
mental  life."  Paine's  life  was  so  "experimental" 
that  a  critic,  surveying  his  variegated  career, 
might  have  feared  his  drowning  in  the  waters  of 
Unstability.  His  spirit  was  ever  fluid  and  moving; 
his  hungry  brain  biting  into  every  phase  of  exist 
ence.  Forestalling  Emerson,  he  taught  a  little, 
preached  a  little,  and  went  to  Congress;  his  farm 
ing  was  on  a  scale  too  small  for  great  financial  loss ; 
instead  of  the  corner  grocery  and  peddler's  cart, 
he  went  trading  on  the  high  seas  and  harpooning 
whales;  with  Yankee  adaptability,  he  carried  a 
transit  and  chain  as  surveyor;  mended  clocks, 
dabbled  with  chemistry,  and  finally  rested  in  the 
lap  of  the  law.  Thus  mixing  with  men  and  keeping 
his  eyes  open,  his  mind  was  reacting  to  different 
stimuli  and  all  the  while  building  upon  itself  as 
he  came  to  learn  the  Universal  Laws.  When  he 
[1371 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


signed  the  Declaration  his  name  stood  for  well- 
rounded  experience. 

Reared  in  a  family  not  only  above  want,  but 
wealthy  enough  to  be  envied,  the  boy  grew  up 
with  prospects  of  a  place  among  the  well-to-do. 
In  the  year  that  he  was  graduated  from  college 
the  tide  of  fortune  ebbed,  and  left  his  father 
stranded  on  the  beach  of  Poverty.  This  fall  to 
penury  from  plenty,  he  met  courageously.  To 
bridge  over  the  hard  times,  he  first  sought  a  posi 
tion  as  teacher,  an  employment  profitable  to 
youth  in  gaining  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
habits  of  patience,  concentration,  self-control, 
and  familiarity  with  platform  speaking.  In  teach 
ing  others,  he  was  teaching  himself.  A  gradu 
ate  of  the  Latin  School,  and  living  next  door,  he 
readily  secured  a  position  there  as  usher  in  the 
year  1750,  for  which  service  the  town  of  Boston 
paid  fifty  pounds  a  quarter.1 

1  Oliver  Goldsmith,  a  year  older  than  Paine,  was  graduated 
from  Trinity  College  and  afterwards  became  an  usher  there. 
His  experiences  he  utilizes  in  the  "Vicar  of  Wakefield": 

I  have  been  an  usher  to  a  boarding-school  myself;  and  may  I  die 
by  an  anodyne  necklace,  but  I  had  rather  be  an  under-turnkey  at 
Newgate!  I  was  up  early  and  late;  I  was  brow-beat  by  the  master;  hated 
for  my  ugly  face  by  the  mistress;  worried  by  the  boys  within;  and  never 
permitted  to  stir  out  to  meet  civility  abroad.  But  are  you  sure  you  are 
fit  for  a  school?  Let  me  examine  you  a  little.  "Have  you  been  bred 
apprentice  to  the  business?"  "No."  "Then  you  won't  do  for  a  school." 
"Can  you  dress  the  boys'  hair?"  "No."  "Then  you  won't  do  for  a 
school."  "Have  you  had  the  small-pox  ?"  "No."  "Then  you  won't  do 
for  a  school."  "Can  you  lie  three  in  a  bed?"  "No."  "Then  you  will 
never  do  for  a  school."  "Have  you  got  a  good  stomach?"  "Yes." 
"Then  you  will  by  no  means  do  for  a  school." 

[  138] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


Paine  left  the  Latin  School  in  1750,  and  the  next 
winter  went  to  teach  a  school  at  Lunenburg. 
Rattan  well  in  hand,  he  stood  his  ground  and 
chased  the  unruly  pupil  over  and  under  the  benches 
or  out  of  the  window  if  need  be.  After  two  ses 
sions  with  ferule  and  primer,  he  concluded  that  he 
might  better  make  his  way  in  the  world  by  ship 
ping  in  one  of  his  father's  vessels.  His  three  years 
of  maritime  wanderings  and  his  transit  of  the 
pulpit  have  been  given  in  the  chapter  on  adven 
ture  wrhich  ran  somewhat  ahead  of  our  story  to 
conform  with  the  Seven  Ages.  Robert  combined  a 
study  of  law  and  gospel  under  Samuel  Willard  at 
Lancaster,  followed  by  a  year  of  law  under  Benja 
min  Pratt.  In  1 750,  there  was  lingering  doubt  as  to 
the  law  being  a  holy  calling,  though  the  making 
of  an  attorney  was  something  akin  to  the  mak 
ing  of  a  minister.  The  youth  was  apprenticed  to 
some  popular  justice  who  usually  had  one  or 
more  fledglings  under  his  eye.  In  lieu  of  copying 
sermons  and  hymns,  studying  concordances  and 
catechisms,  the  tadpole  lawyer  copied  writs  and 
leases,  and  burned  the  tallow  dip  over  Coke  and 
Littleton,  Hawkins's  "Pleas  of  the  Crown," 
Justinian's  "Institutes,"  and  Sackville's  Reports. 
He  was  called  on  to  sweep  and  dust  the  library, 
harness  the  horse,  brush  boots,  shovel  snow,  weed 
turnips,  chop  wood,  and  perform  a  thousand  petty 
disagreeables  of  life,  which,  however,  were  sweet- 
[  139  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ened  by  surreptitious  love-making  with  the  mas 
ter's  daughter.  The  very  week  of  his  admission  to 
the  Boston  Bar,  in  May,  i757,Paine's  father  died 
insolvent;  and  he  found  himself,  aged  twenty- 
six,  the  head  of  the  family  and  worth  less  than 
nothing. 

Death  brings  about  a  readjustment  of  affairs. 
The  young  man  at  once  made  plans  to  liquidate  his 
legacy  of  debt.  His  eldest  sister  was  now  married 
to  a  distiller,  which  insured  her  ample  comfort, 
and  his  younger  sister  was  the  only  immediate  con 
nection  looking  to  him  for  support.  The  disposal 
of  property  at  Falmouth,  which  had  come  by  his 
grandfather,  required  him  to  spend  some  time 
there,  attending  to  business,  but  looking  in  vain 
for  additional  practice. 

In  the  year  1758,  John  Adams  chronicles  a  dole 
ful  colloquy  of  Paine  and  Quincy: 

Bob  Paine:  "I  have  ruined  myself  by  a  too  eager 
pursuit  of  wisdom.  I  have  now  neither  health  enough 
for  an  active  life  nor  knowledge  enough  for  a  sedent- 


ive  one." 


Josiah  Quincy:  "We  shall  never  make  your  great 
fellows." 

Thus  Paine  and  Quincy  both  are  verging  to  de 
spair. 

Paine:  "If  I  attempt  a  composition,  my  thoughts 
are  slow  &  dull." 

Paine  is  discouraged,  and  Quincy  has  not  courage 

[ 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


enough  to  harbor  a  thought  of  acquiring  a  great 
character.  In  short,  none  of  them  have  a  foundation 
that  will  support  them.  .  .  .  Paine's  face  has  lost 
its  bloom,  &  his  eye  its  vivacity  &  fire;  his  eye  is 
weak,  his  countenance  pale,  &  his  attention  unsteady; 
and,  what  is  worse,  he  suffers  this  decline  of  health 
to  retard  &  almost  to  stop  his  studies.  .  .  . 

Paine  (to  me):  "You  don't  intend  to  be  a  sage,  I 
suppose?"  Oh,  Paine  has  not  penetration  to  reach 
the  bottom  of  my  mind.  He  don't  know  me;  next 
time  I  will  answer  him,  &  say;  "No,  Knowledge 
enough  to  keep  out  of  fire  and  water  is  all  that  I  aim 
at." 

Seeking  new  fields,  he  now  looked  toward  the 
home  of  his  paternal  ancestors,  as  before  he  had 
gone  into  the  neighborhood  of  his  mother's  people 
to  teach  and  preach.  Taunton  was  the  foremost 
town  of  southern  Massachusetts;  there  he  stopped 
to  bait  his  horse  on  his  way  from  Boston  to 
Barnstable.  In  June,  1755,  Paine  came  down  to 
a  muster  with  Gordon  Chandler  (whose  daughter 
married  a  Leonard),  and  visited  his  college  friend, 
George  Leonard.  In  March,  1758,  Paine  and  Dick 
Cranch  rode  down  to  Taunton,  attended  the 
Inferior  Court,  ate  breakfast  with  Squire  White, 
and  were  greeted  with  curtseys  by  his  charming 
daughters.  As  the  young  men  rode  home  and 
talked  over  the  outlook  for  lawyers,  Paine  thought 
how  fine  it  would  look  to  hang  his  shingle  under 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


that  of  Squire  White,  and  the  rosy  future  was 
brightened  by  the  eyes  of  the  daughter,  Anna. 
Squire  White,  formerly  living  in  Weymouth,  had 
been  fitted  for  Harvard  by  his  pastor,  Rev. 
Thomas  Paine,  Robert's  father. 

Transplanting  is  usually  beneficial.  To  remain 
root-bound  in  one's  birthplace,  enslaved  to  fixed 
conditions,  forbids  expansion.  The  acorn  sprout 
ing  under  the  shade  of  the  parent  oak  is  spindling; 
the  acorn  carried  by  the  blue  jay  to  the  open  field 
grows  stalwart.  In  the  new  environment,  not 
only  must  the  newcomer  struggle  to  keep  his  head 
above  the  water  of  competition  (which  brings 
into  action  all  his  latent  powers),  but  he  is  also 
freed  from  the  handicap  of  village  gossip  peddling 
abroad  the  mistakes  of  youth. 

Paine,  bringing  his  Boston  training  into  the 
rural  town,  began  to  thrive.  His  first  case  in 
Bristol  County  Court-House  grew  out  of  litigation 
over  land  left  him  by  his  father  in  Dartmouth. 
After  a  while  he  kept  a  horse  in  Dr.  McKinstry's 
pasture,  and  with  saddle-bags  and  legal  books  he 
would  ride  about  the  country,  to  Quaker  meetings 
and  turkey  suppers,  or  bait  his  horse  at  the  homes 
of  men  who  might  become  his  clients,  or  some 
day  send  him  to  Congress.  From  his  diary,  we 
find  him  dining  with  Chief  Justice  Hutchinson 
at  Milton,  with  Judge  Oliver  at  Middleboro, 
Nathaniel  Ray  Thomas  at  Marshfield,  Colonel 
[  142] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


Doty  at  Stoughton,  Mr.  Edson  at  Bridgewater, 
Edward  Winslow  and  Colonel  Watson  at  Ply 
mouth,  John  Rowe  in  Boston,  and  with  other  dis 
tinguished  citizens  at  Providence,  Newport,  and 
Barnstable.  This  exercise  on  horseback  gave  him 
a  wholesome  view  of  life;  it  was  good  for  his  liver. 
With  the  birds  singing  in  the  trees,  the  rabbits 
bobbing  across  the  highway,  quails  piping  in  the 
meadow,  his  lungs  full  of  ozone,  and  quick  blood 
thrilling  his  whole  body,  he  rode  out  of  melan 
choly  into  gladness.  And  he  was  able  to  save  a 
pound  sterling  now  and  then  to  send  to  sister 
Eunice.  The  law  did  not  absorb  all  his  time;  to 
piece  out,  he  became  Surveyor  of  Highways,  and 
had  a  job  when  Colonel  White  indicted  the  town 
for  maintaining  a  menace  to  public  safety  by  neg 
lect  of  Neck-o'-Land  Bridge.  Soon  the  sun  began 
to  shine  with  new  brilliancy  for  the  young  barris 
ter;  clients  multiplied. 

Among  the  notable  cases  discussed  by  lawyers 
during  Paine's  early  years  in  Taunton  was  the  trial 
in  1761  of  the  slave,  Peggy,  a  spinster  of  Swanzea, 
who  drowned  her  two  children,  Violet  and  Cato. 
In  1762,  "Seth  Cooper  did  challenge  advisedly, 
wickedly,  and  corruptly  Benjamin  Marvel  to  fight 
a  duel,"  for  which  he  was  convicted  and  fined.1  In 

1  A  letter  written  in  1762  by  Jonathan  Sewall,  Attorney- 
General  of  the  Province,  to  his  college  friend,  Paine,  and  the 
amusing  reply,  mirror  men  and  matters  then  uppermost  in  the 

[143] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


1763,  Henry  Grossman  went  to  Swanzea  and  came 
home  with  another  man's  horse,  for  which  he  was 
set  on  the  gallows  with  a  rope  around  his  neck, 
whipped  ten  stripes  and  compelled  to  pay  three 
times  the  value  of  the  horse  (£27).  Publicity  of 
punishment  had  not  been  abolished.  Frail  and  be 
trayed  women  were  punished  at  the  whipping-post 
and  exposed  to  the  gibes  of  town  loafers.  In  1764, 
when  execution  of  judgment  was  summary  and 

public  mind  and  recall  half-forgotten  incidents  to  the  students 
of  the  Revolutionary  period. 

BROTHER  BOB,  —  Pray  be  so  kind  as  to  deliver  the  enclosed  [prob 
ably  a  legal  document]  to  a  Catch-pole  [a  constable];  and  when  you  can 
give  me  an  opportunity  to  cancel  the  obligation,  please  to  command 
me  freely;  your  hearty  friend,  &c.  —  How  is  the  harvest  in  your  part 
of  the  vineyard?  Which  side  do  you  take  in  the  political  controversy? 
What  think  you  of  coin?  What  of  writs  of  assistance?  What  of  his 

honour,  the  L ?  What  of  Otis?  What  of  Thatcher?  What  of 

Coke,  the  cobbler?  What  think  you  of  bedlam  for  political  madmen? 
What  think  you  of  patriotism?  What  think  you  of  disappointed  am 
bition?  What  think  you  of  the  fable  of  the  bees?  What  — ?  Send  me 
your  thoughts  on  these  questions,  and  I  will  send  you  fifty  more. 

JONATHAN  SEWALL. 

CHARLESTOWN,  nth  Feb.,  1762. 

FRIEND  JONATHAN,  —  I  have  just  received  yours,  and  shall  take, 
special  care  of  the  enclosed.  Your  queries  demand  an  immediate  answer, 
in  which  I  hope  you  will  find  a  satisfactory  display  of  the  orthodoxy  of 
my  mind.  To  first  query,  I  answer,  the  old  account  is  reversed,  for  the 
harvest  is  small  and  the  labourers  are  many,  and  there  are  many  little 
foxes  that  spoil  the  vines.  To  2nd  query,  I  reply  the  right  side.  To  the 
3d  question,  I  say,  what  hungry  men  do  of  food,  if  they  can  get  any, 
never  dispute  the  quality  or  the  price.  I  reply  to  the  4th  inquiry,  never 
was  more  need  of  them;  I  shall  soon  apply  for  one  to  get  me  a  help-meet. 
Question  5th:  What  of  his  honor,  the  L.  G.?  I  answer,  as  the  son  of 
Sirach  said,  all  things  cannot  be  in  vain,  because  man  is  not  immortal  — 
what  is  brighter  than  the  sun?  Yet  the  light  thereof  faileth.  What  of 
Otis?  Answer;  what  the  virtuosi  do  of  Lemory's  concave  mirror,  which 
burns  everything  which  cannot  be  melted.  What  of  Thatcher?  Answer: 

[144] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


each  lawyer  his  own  justice,  this  legal  item  bears 
witness  that  Paine's  abhorrence  of  profanity  in 
college  was  not  outgrown. 

1764  2Oth  February. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign,  Thomas 
Tobey  was  convicted  by  his  own  confession  of  swear 
ing  two  profane  oaths  in  the  town  of  Taunton,  and 
was  sentenced  to  pay  four  shillings  for  the  first  and 
one  shilling  for  the  second.  Before  me. 

ROB'T  T.  PAINE  (Jus  Pac). 

There  were  frequent  cases  of  smuggling,  and  other 
attempts  to  evade  the  revenue  laws,  in  which 
Paine  appears  as  counsel.  In  1765,  the  Stamp 
Act  alarmed  the  legal  fraternity.  Paine,  in  his 
journal,  wrote  November  I,  1765,  "A  dark,  de- 

ai  Jacob  said  of  his  son  Dan,  as  a  serpent  in  the  way  he  biteth  the  horse's 
heels,  so  that  his  rider  falleth  backward.  What  of  Coke,  the  cobbler? 
That  he  is  dignified  with  a  title  which  many  others  deserve  more. 
What  of  bedlam  for  political  madmen?  It  will  by  no  means  do;  being 
already  occupied  by  madmen  of  a  more  sacred  profession.  What  of 
patriotism?  As  I  do  of  the  balance  master's  art,  very  few  have  virtue 
enough,  in  the  Roman  sense,  to  keep  themselves  perpendicular.  What 
of  disapointed  ambition?  Consult  your  own  mind,  on  having  no  reply 
to  this  question.  What  of  the  fable  of  the  bees?  It  proves  that  good  old 
word,  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  the  Lord.  Last  question,  What  — ? 
It  is  the  recapitulation  of  all  the  others.  Thus  I  have  $one  through 
my  catechism,  and  according  to  the  good  rule  of  education,  the  next 
step  is  to  learn  it  with  proofs;  in  which  I  shall  hardly  fail  of  success,  if 
I  keep  to  that  standard.  As  for  the  fifty  questions  more  with  which 
you  threaten  me,  I  beg  when  you  execute  it,  you  would  observe  a  modern 
rule  of  answering  them  yourself  as  you  go  along;  in  the  mean  time  con 
ceive  yourself  obliged  to  answer  these  small  queries.  What  think  you 
of  our  — ?  of  our  Act?  —  of  what  strange  compound,  soul  and  body? 
and  of  mankind?  Expecting  to  see  your  agreeable  Democritical  visage, 
I  subscribe,  your  fellow-gazer  and  friend, 

R.  T.  P. 

[I4S] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


structive  fog  at  dawn  as  if  Nature  mourned  the 
dreaded  day."  1  Betting  was  not  carried  on  in 
pounds  and  shillings  with  carefully  calculated 
odds,  but  a  turkey  supper  would  be  put  up  against 
a  hogshead  of  rum.  A  suit  was  brought  to  court 
on  which  a  loser  declined  to  pay  his  wager.  The 
court  held  that  only  private  honor  could  compel 
payment  of  such  a  debt. 

Barristers  were  the  highest  rank  of  lawyers. 
In  1768,  there  were  twenty-five  in  Massachusetts, 
of  whom  the  three  in  Bristol  County  were  Samuel 
White,  Robert  Treat  Paine,  and  Daniel  Leonard. 
Legal  pickings  in  Taunton  could  not  supply  a 
living;  so  together  they  rode  on  their  circuits, 
seeking  clients  in  Plymouth,  Barnstable,  Provi 
dence,  and  attended  celebrated  trials  in  Boston. 
While  friendship  might  cease  among  the  liti 
gants  when  their  case  came  into  court,  the  coun 
sel  often  grew  better  friends  thereby.  Paine  and 
Leonard  would  strive  mightily,  argue  vehemently, 
and  after  the  session  laugh  and  empty  their  glasses 
together  at  the  bar  of  Bacchus.2 

1  Some  lawyers  were  discussing  the  gloomy  outlook  at  a  tav 
ern,  when  one  dejectedly  asked  [another,  "What  are  we  going 
to  do  now?"  "Guess  you  better  go  to  making  brass  buckles," 
interpolated  the  tavern-keeper,  "as  the  raw  stock  won't  cost 
you  anything." 

2  If  you  would  see  how  Paine  or  Leonard  appeared  as  young 
lawyers,  examine  closely,  in  Reid's  painting  in  the  State  House 
"Otis  arguing  the  Writs  of  Assistance,"  the  group  of  attorneys 
in  the  background. 

[146] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


At  one  time,  Paine  and  John  Adams  were  op 
posing  counsel  at  Martha's  Vineyard,  where  the 
Mayhew  family  feud  had  become  so  shameless,  it 
seemed  to  the  visiting  "off-islanders"  that  all 
"virtue,  honor,  decorum,  and  veracity"  had  fled 
to  No  Man's  Land. 

Paine  conducted  a  case  in  1769,  for  Copley,  the 
artist,  who  had  become  involved  in  a  suit  of  long 
standing  concerning  a  parcel  of  land  on  Beacon 
Hill,  now  occupied  in  part  by  the  Somerset  Club. 
What  a  pity  that  the  then  poor  artist  did  not 
liquidate  the  lawyer's  fee  by  painting  Paine's 
portrait!  But  although  Copley  was  making  por 
traits  of  Revere,  Adams,  and  Hancock  at  about 
that  time,  Paine  did  not  realize  how  he  was  miss 
ing  an  opportunity  of  shining  in  art  museums  of 
later  centuries. 

Since  the  founding  of  Taunton,  it  has  seen  but 
three  executions  for  murder.  The  most  noted 
was  during  Paine's  early  days  there.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  June  4,  1763,  as  Elizabeth,  sister  of  Dr. 
McKinstry,  stooped  to  kindle  the  fire  on  the 
kitchen  hearth,  she  was  struck  on  the  head  with 
a  flatiron  and  horribly  mutilated  with  an  axe, 
by  a  frenzied  negro  boy  named  Bristol.  The  mur 
derer  fled  to  the  woods,  was  tracked,  by  a  posse 
organized  for  pursuit,  to  Rehoboth,  Swanzea,  and 
Providence,  and  finally,  after  three  days'  chase, 
was  captured  in  Newport,  where,  amid  the  numer- 

[147] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ous  colored  population,  he  had  tried  to  conceal 
his  identity.  It  was  said  he  had  been  induced  to 
believe  that  he  could  secure  his  freedom  by  killing 
one  of  the  family.  He  laid  the  whole  affair  to 
the  tavern-keepers  negro;  but  was  overcome  with 
remorse  and  repentance.1  The  indictment  read: 
"Bristol,  servant  of  William  McKinstry,  not  hav 
ing  God  before  his  eyes,  did  assault  one  Eliza 
beth  McKinstry,  in  the  peace  of  God,  &c."  He 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  The 
execution  was  set  for  November  I.  Paine,  as 

1  Paine  was  coming  down  to  Taunton  when  the  news  reached 
him  of  this  tragedy.  In  a  letter  to  his  sister  he  says: 

The  fact  was  committed  on  the  morning  I  left  you.  I  heard  the  news 
as  I  entered  Taunton  and  you  may  well  think  I  was  received  joyfully 
at  the  house,  which  I  found  full  of  curious  spectators,  confusion,  anx 
iety,  and  distress  —  she  was  living  senseless  —  Dr.  Tobey  came  and 
pronounced  her  wounds  fatal  —  in  the  evening  she  died.  The  burthen 
of  everything  lay  upon  me  —  some  things  I  must  wait  here  till  I  see  you. 
Five  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  coroner  called  to  direct  me  to  take 
the  inquisition.  About  four  o'clock  Bristol,  who  had  been  taken  at 
Newport,  appeared,  sullen,  denied  the  fact  as  it  was  committed,  and 
has  since  most  penitently  confessed  to  me  and  many  others  the  fact, 
nearly  as  I  exprest  it  in  the  newspaper,  and  said  he  had  never  had  any 
anger  against  her,  that  she  never  treated  him  ill. 

Paine,  being  intimate  in  the  McKinstry  family,  took  a  re 
sponsible  part  in  the  conduct  of  the  funeral.  He  speaks  of  the 
ceremony  as  follows: 

On  Tuesday  she  was  most  decently  interred,  the  largest  and  best 
regulated  funeral  in  the  country,  six  scholars  her  bearers,  I  one.  There 
is  nothing  more  particular  that  I  can  recollect  amidst  the  incessant  in 
terruptions  of  court  week.  The  Doctor  extremely  affected,  but  very  de 
cent;  poor  Mrs.  McKinstry  worked  up  into  high  hysterics;  I  was  obliged 
from  principles  of  humanity,  with  the  assistance  of  her  friends,  to  go 
inside  and  work  up  a  most  labored  cheerfulness  to  keep  her  from  fixed 
distemper. 

[  148] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


his  counsel,  pleaded  "benefit  of  clergy,"  l  and 
secured  a  reprieve  of  two  weeks  from  Governor 
Bernard.  As  there  was  a  lurking  suspicion  that  a 
negro  had  no  soul  to  save  (an  opinion  held  also  by 
some  in  earlier  ages  in  regard  to  woman),  this  act 
of  Paine's  seemed  especially  humane. 
The  epitaph  of  the  woman  reads : 

Here  lies  ye  body  of  Elizabeth  McKinstry,  basely 
murdered  by  a  negro  boy,  June  4,  1763,  aged  28. 
"Watch  for  ye  know  not  the  manner  nor  the  moment 
of  your  death." 

One  minister  and  one  doctor  will  thrive  in  a 
small  country  town;  a  lone  lawyer  may  cleave  the 
air  in  vain,  when  two  would  clip  as  merrily  as  a 
pair  of  sheep-shears. 

You  ask  me  why  lawyers  are  so  much  increased, 
Tho'  most  of  the  country  already  are  fleeced? 
The  reason,  I'm  sure,  is  most  startlingly  plain: 
Tho'  sheep  are  oft  sheared,  yet  the  wool  grows  again. 
And  tho'  you  think  ever  so  odd  of  the  matter, 
The  oftener  they're  fleeced,the  wool  grows  the  better, 
Like  downy-chinned  boys,  as  oft  I  have  heard, 
By  frequently  shaving  obtain  a  large  beard. 

1  In  old  English  days,  a  law  was  passed  intended  for  the 
immunity  of  ministers,  by  which  all  who  could  read  might  re 
ceive  judicial  clemency  in  mitigation  of  punishment.  As  a 
matter  of  usage,  any  one  who  was  so  accomplished  as  to  read 
his  own  name,  had  opportunity  to  claim  what  was  termed 
"benefit  of  clergy." 

[  149] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


So  long  as  the  passions  of  envy,  hate,  malice,  and 
greed  dwell  in  the  human  breast,  so  long  will  law 
yers  turn  these  passions  to  account  for  their 
mutual  emolument.  The  two  blades  of  the  local 
shears  in  1770  were  Paine  and  Leonard. 

We  imagine  Leonard,  about  to  descend  into  real 
life  from  the  college  Parnassus,  was  puzzled  what 
career  to  choose.  To  be  a  doctor  and  know  every 
ill  and  scar  covered  by  the  gay  apparel  of  his 
fellow-townsmen;  to  be  a  minister  and  know  the 
haunting  fear,  timid  doubt,  and  heavy  heartaches 
concealed  under  the  forced  smile;  to  be  a  law 
yer  and  know  who  were  writing  wills  and  mort 
gages,  who  were  to  be  residuary  legatees,  who 
were  in  financial  troubles,  who  were  seeking  petty 
vengeance;  —  there  was  a  three-horned  dilemma. 
He  could  look  over  the  careers  of  a  number  of 
kinsmen  who  had  acquired  college  degrees.  His 
uncle,  Nathaniel,  had  studied  for  the  ministry; 
so  had  his  cousin,  Abiel,  who  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1759.  His  cousin,  George,  graduating  in 
1748,  became  a  lawyer.  Another  cousin,  Thomas, 
seemed  to  be  the  only  one  in  the  family  with  a 
taste  for  physic. 

Opening  his  eyes  to  the  ways  of  the  world, 
Daniel  perceived  that  while  a  barber  had  a  fixed 
price  for  dressing  a  cue,  and  a  farm-hand  a  fixed 
wage  for  a  day's  work,  the  lawyer  took  all  he 
could  get,  ate  three  good  meals  a  day,  wore  fine 
[ISO] 


Hanging  the  Shingles 


clothes,  rode  in  chaises,  and  commanded  men's 
purses  and  votes.  He  could  absorb  wealth  without 
creating  it.  For  a  hundred  years  after  the  settle 
ment  at  Plymouth,  there  were  no  distinguished 
lawyers  in  the  colony,  though  "common-sense 
justices  "  were  found  at  almost  every  cross-roads. 
Then  the  call  of  the  times  was  for  constructive 
lawmakers,  who  could  debate  the  fundamental 
issues  on  which  a  mighty  nation  was  soon  to 
rest. 

On  leaving  Cambridge,  Daniel  returned  to 
Norton  with  an  air  of  some  importance.  The  fame 
of  his  fine  Latin  oration  at  Commencement  gave 
him  high  standing,  and  at  twenty-two  years  old 
he  was  chosen  a  selectman.  This  office  was  a  sort 
of  heirloom,  his  grandfather,  father,  uncle,  and 
cousin  having  served  their  terms. 

Daniel  had  notions  of  being  a  gentleman,  hold 
ing  office,  and  gaining  wealth  by  absorption, 
rather  than  extracting  it  from  the  soil  as  his  an 
cestors  had  done.  He  went  to  Boston,  studied  the 
law  a  while,  sketching  the  profile  of  Nancy  White 
on  the  margins  of  his  big  sheep-bound  books,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1766.  He  soon  found 
that  his  native  town  had  grown  too  small  for  him; 
there  was  little  hope  in  lawyer-ridden  Boston  in 
competition  with  such  men  as  Otis,  Quincy,  Sewall, 
and  Adams;  the  shire  town  of  Bristol  County 
seemed  the  logical  starting-point  for  a  career,  and 

[ 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


near  Taunton  Court-House  he  hung  his  shingle. 
It  was  not  long  before  he  was  engaged  in  an  im 
portant  case  dealing  with  the  laws  of  contract  — 
a  contract  between  two  parties  inclined  to  matri 
mony. 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  Belle  of  Taunton 

Hers  was  the  subtlest  spell  by  far 

Of  all  that  set  young  hearts  romancing. 

PRAED. 

IN  an  account  book  of  Colonel  White  an  entry, 
in  the  summer  of  1756,  reads:  "Loaned  four 
dollars  to  Dan'l  Leonard  on  account."  This 
item  not  only  reveals  a  close  intimacy  of  young 
Daniel  with  Colonel  White's  family,  but  his  bor 
rowing  propensity  suggests  that  he  was  qualify 
ing  as  a  traditional  Harvard  freshman.  Colonel 
Samuel  White  held  a  license  for  a  tavern,  or  ordi 
nary,  as  these  houses  of  entertainment  were  called 
in  the  provincial  period.  Soon  after  graduating 
from  Harvard,  in  1731,  White,  a  student  of  law, 
was  appointed  deputy-sheriff  and  came  to  Taun 
ton  to  marry  Prudence,  daughter  of  Samuel  Wil 
liams,  grandson  of  Richard  Williams,  whom  an 
tiquaries  have  styled  the  "Father  of  Taunton." 
There  were  various  lawyers  who  did  business  in 
cidentally,  as  justices;  but  White  was  the  first 
out-and-out  lawyer  in  Taunton  to  dislodge  the 
idea  that  the  law  was  an  unrighteous  profession. 
He  was  made  King's  Attorney;  his  father-in-law 
had  been  in  the  legislature  eight  terms,  but  he 
was  sent  eleven  sessions;  served  as  Speaker  of  the 
[  IS3] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Assembly  three  terms,  and  in  1765  signed  the  pro 
test  against  the  Stamp  Act.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  first  Continental  Convention  at  New  York 
that  year,  and  had  the  apple  then  been  ripe  to  fall, 
might  have  signed  a  Declaration  of  Independence. 
During  his  last  years,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Council.1 

Colonel  White  built  his  house  in  the  afternoon 
shade  of  the  great  oak,  still  standing  on  Somerset 
Avenue,  at  the  corner  of  White  Street,  named  in 
remembrance  of  him.  This  venerable  oak,  by 
careful  computation,  is  three  hundred  years  old, 
and  was  standing  when  Somerset  Avenue  was 
an  Indian  path  from  Cohannet  to  Pokanoket. 
King  Philip  and  his  braves  may  have  sat  in  its 
shelter  and  gathered  its  acorns.  If  it  were  a 
Sibylline  oak  with  talking  leaves,  what  happy 
tales  it  could  tell  of  White's  three  daughters, 
Experience,  Anna,  and  Bathsheba,  before  the 
pink  pleasures  of  girlhood  had  paled  in  the  gray 
duties  of  maternity;  of  merry  morning  spinning- 
bees  ;  gay  afternoon  tea-parties  beneath  its  boughs ; 
of  the  Harvard-bred  dandies  riding  up  to  call;  of 

1  The  obituary  notice  of  March  20,  1769,  in  the  Boston 
Evening  Post  speaks  of  White  as  a  "gentleman  well  known  in 
this  government  from  the  many  public  stations  in  which  he  ap 
peared,  and  well  esteemed  for  the  attention  and  integrity  with 
which  he  demeaned  himself  in  them.  By  long  experience  and 
fidelity  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  he  had  acquired  a  handsome 
estate  and  a  fair  character." 

[  154] 


A  Belle  of  Taunton 


mounting  from  the  horse-block  when  the  young 
ladies  were  lightly  tossed  to  the  pillion  behind 
their  beaux.1  John  Rowe  (of  Rowe's  wharf)  took 
tea  at  Colonel  White's  and  wrote  in  his  diary  that 
the  White  girls  "appeared  very  neat"  -a  com 
pliment  which  covers  a  multitude  of  charms,  and 
calls  to  mind  a  home  with  its  clean-winged  hearth, 
gleaming  pewter,  sanded  floor,  and  well-scoured 
panes. 

Nancy  was  a  belle  educated  in  a  Boston  finish 
ing-school.  Her  autographs,  as  witness  to  powers 
of  attorney  for  her  father,  appear  in  Colonel 
White's  record  book  as  early  as  her  thirteenth 
year.  He  took  her  up  to  Boston  in  the  big  boat- 
shaped  sledge  when  he  rode  to  the  winter  ses 
sions.  The  environment  differed  from  that  of  a 
girl  of  to-day;  there  were  no  high  schools  nor 
colleges ;  novels  and  magazines  were  few;  our  city 

1  Of  these  three  daughters,  Experience  was  "published" 
in  1759  to  George  Leonard  of  Norton;  his  cousin,  Daniel,  who 
knew  Anna  in  school-days,  married  her  in  1767;  the  third  daugh 
ter,  Bathsheba,  married  William  Baylies,  a  classmate  of  Daniel 
at  college,  who  came  down  from  Uxbridge,  where  his  people 
were  iron-workers.  Three  leading  families  thus  interwoven 
became  the  dominant  circle  in  Taunton.  Of  the  sisters,  the 
eldest,  Experience,  is  buried  by  the  side  of  her  distinguished 
husband,  under  an  elaborate  tombstone,  at  Norton;  the  young 
est,  Bathsheba,  lies  on  the  Richmond  hilltop  at  Dighton,  be 
side  her  husband,  Dr.  Baylies;  midway  between  the  two  in  the 
Plain  Burying-Ground  of  Taunton,  beside  her  parents,  lies  the 
delicate  Anna  Leonard. 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


libraries  were  as  unthought  of  as  telephones, 
automobiles,  arc-lights,  or  airships ;  but  the  wide- 
open  book  of  Nature  she  learned  by  heart.  She 
knew  that  tree  swallows  came  in  early  April; 
that  the  first  Sunday  in  May,  the  fire  hang-bird 
would  be  carolling  in  the  elm-tops;  that  on  the 
King's  birthday,  robin's  eggs  could  be  found  in 
the  mud-lined  nests.  She  knew  the  plaintive 
notes  of  the  phoebe,  the  flute-song  of  the  veery, 
and  the  wood  thrush,  the  crossbill  whistling  in  the 
hemlocks,  the  topsy-turvy  nuthatch,  the  cooing 
of  the  wood-dove.  She  gathered  water-lilies  and 
mallows  in  the  river  creeks;  could  find  the  shad- 
bush  of  spring,  the  gentian  in  the  fall,  checker- 
berries  under  the  snow,  holly  in  the  winter  swamps, 
and  all  the  campestral  flowers  of  summer.  The 
rabbit  in  the  woods,  the  trout  in  the  brooks,  the 
mole  in  the  ground,  ferns  and  sassafras  in  the  for 
est;  moths  and  honeybees  were  her  friends.  She 
could  paddle  a  canoe  up  the  river,  harness  Dob 
bin  into  a  chaise;  could  spin  wool  and  weave  it 
for  garments;  make  crab-apple  jellies,  blackberry 
cordials,  and  elderberry  wine,  with  graceful  lady 
hood.  Neat-handed,  young,  and  laughing-eyed, 
of  course  she  had  admirers.  Many  gallants,  well- 
to-do  in  the  world,  were  at  her  feet.  Into  the 
sampler  of  her  dreams  she  wove  images  of  the 
young  bloods  of  Boston,  the  visiting  lawyers 
sitting  at  her  father's  table  on  high  court  days, 
[156] 


A  Belle  of  Taunton 


as  well  as  Robert,  Daniel,  and  scions  of  other 
leading  Taunton  families  —  Williams,  Crocker, 
Tisdale,  Dean,  Washburn,  Cobb,  and  Presbrey. 

There  are  causes  of  division  among  the  youth 
of  every  town  —  family  connections,  political  as 
pirations,  church  associations,  professional  jealous 
ies,  and  the  girls.  The  old  White  oak  was  a 
rallying-point  for  wit  and  beauty  —  a  rendez 
vous  where  differences  were  forgotten.  Paine 
writes  of  drinking  tea  there  with  three  Leonards, 
Otis,  Adams,  and  others.  Nancy  swayed  her 
lovers  with  admirable  tact,  and  the  gossips  mar 
velled  at  the  number  of  strings  to  her  bow;  but 
she  held  herself  high  and  did  not  marry  until 
six-and-twenty. 

As  herebefore  mentioned,  Paine  was  intimate 
in  the  family.  He  found  in  Nancy  an  appreciat 
ive  listener.  In  the  long  winter  evenings  when  the 
earth  was  wrapped  in  snowy  robes  and  great  logs 
crackled  on  the  wide  hearth,  lighting  up  the  pol 
ished  floor  and  shining  pewter,  Paine  would  close 
the  shutters,  put  on  a  large  fore  log,  take  a  seat 
in  the  settle  by  the  fireside,  and  lower  a  bucket 
into  the  well  of  experience;  while  Nancy  in  the 
other  settle-corner,  would  listen  with  admiration 
until  the  candles  on  the  dresser  burned  low.  He 
told  of  his  frontier  life  at  Crown  Point  among 
the  Indians;  of  taking  dinner  with  Dr.  Franklin 
in  Philadelphia;  of  following  sperm  whales  off 
[  157] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Greenland  amid  fantastic  Boreal  lights;  of  coast 
ing  down  the  stone  flags  of  the  Azores  hills,  and 
seeing  brown-skinned  children  diving  for  coppers 
at  St.  Mary's;  of  the  marvellous  Madonnas  by 
Murillo  and  how  the  artist  met  his  tragic  end  in 
the  chapel  at  Cadiz;  of  the  sights  of  London  for 
which  he  found  a  text  in  the  scenes  on  the  wall 
paper  or  the  English  crockery.  He  walked  home 
with  her  from  Sunday  meeting,  quoting  Pope, 
Dryden,  and  Gray's  Elegy;  told  her  his  views 
on  religion;  talked  of  Whitefield,  Mayhew,  and 
Catholic  masses  in  Spain.  Occasionally  he  took 
the  college  flute  out  of  its  German  case;  and  let 
us  hope  Nancy  accompanied  him  on  the  harpsi 
chord,  to  make  the  air  merry  with  "Green  Sleeves," 
"Cherry  Ripe,"  and  other  English  songs.  When 
we  read  in  Paine's  journal  this  item:  "Cleaned 
Colonel  White's  clock,"  we  conjure  up  a  picture 
of  this  horological  performance,  in  which  Nancy 
assists  in  boiling  the  inner  mechanism.  She  did 
not  need  to  pull  a  daisy  to  pieces  to  tell  whether 
Robert  loved  her  or  not,  when  they  started  on 
their  way  to  Sunday  meeting. 

Pretty  soon,  we  find  Paine  inviting  her  to  go 
on  a  jolly  outing  to  Newport.  Experience  and  her 
husband,  George  Leonard,  were  to  go  also  —  a 
cozy  party  of  four.  They  would  drive  down  one 
day,  remain  a  day,  and  return  the  third.  There 
were  periodical  excursions  to  Boston  or  Newport 
[  IS8] 


A  Belle  of  Taunton 


fromTaimton,  situated  midway  between  the  two.1 
The  Rhode  Island  twin  capital  was  blooming  into 
gayety  as  early  as  1729,  when  Berkeley  arrived, 
while  Boston  was  still  discussing  the  Halfway 
Covenant.  A  company  of  players,  inspired  by  the 
English  officers  stationed  there,  exultant  after  the 
British  victories  at  Louisburg,  Quebec,  Ticonder- 
oga,  and  Havana,  were  giving  plays  entitled  "The 
Grenadier,"  "Maid  of  Oaks,"  and  "The  Devil  to 
Pay  ";  the  last  of  which  we  hope  was  not  the  one 
given  on  this  occasion.  The  party  set  out  for 
Newport  in  chaises  by  way  of  Rehoboth ;  but  the 
quartette  had  scarcely  driven  out  of  town,  when 
up  galloped  Daniel  Leonard,  on  horseback,  de 
termined  to  go  along  with  them,  his  cousin  having 
given  him  a  quiet  tip.  His  appearance  did  not 
especially  contribute  to  Paine's  enjoyment.  Soon 
after,  it  came  about  that  it  was  not  the  travelled, 
Boston-bred  newcomer,  Robert,  but  the  wealthy, 
ruddy,  country-born  Daniel,  who  bore  away  the 
prize. 
A  town  record  reads : 

April  2,  1767 

Daniel  Leonard  of  Norton  and  Anna  White  of 
Taunton  were  joined  together  in  marriage  in  Taun 
ton. 

1  The  winter  of  1769,  Taunton  River  was  frozen  so  solid  that 
sleighs  were  driven  by  the  young  men  all  the  way  to  Newport 
on  the  ice. 

[159] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Samuel  White,  Esq.,  Ephraim  Leonard,  Esq., 
George  Leonard,  Jr.,  Esq.,  and  Seth  Williams  were 
present. 

By  me, 

GEORGE  LEONARD,  Justice. 

Anna  and  Daniel  went  on  a  wedding  journey 
in  a  chaise  about  New  England.  Paine's  journal, 
April  12,  1767,  reads  "Daniel  Leonard  and  Anna 
White  returned." 

There  was  a  year  of  happiness  in  Taunton  for 
Daniel  and  his  bride;  then  came  the  little  one, 
named,  for  the  mother,  Anna  White  Leonard. 
But  the  child  had  scarcely  opened  her  eyes  when 
the  mother's  lids  were  closed.  The  same  blue 
birds  and  robins  were  carolling  in  the  oak  tree,  the 
grass  was  again  green  on  the  river-banks,  and  the 
hylas  peeping  in  the  marshes,  on  that  April  day 
when  the  sorrowing  relatives  and  friends,  Paine 
among  them,  bore  her  body  to  the  burial-ground 
from  the  home  where  a  year  before  they  had 
gathered  to  celebrate  her  nuptial  gladness.  The 
marriage  gown  had  become  a  shroud;  Daniel  was 
wedded  to  a  memory. 

Some  quiet  Sunday  afternoon  if  you  go  up  to 
the  Plain  Burying-Ground  on  the  old  Bay  Road, 
you  may  still  decipher,  under  a  cluster  of  sentinel 
firs,  through  briers  and  tangled  grass  and  mosses, 
this  admonitory  sermon  on  the  broad,  flat  tomb 
stone  of  the  gentle  Anna : 
[  160] 


A  Belle  of  Taunton 


Intombed  the  remains  of  Mrs.  Anna  Leonard, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  White,  Esq.,  Consort 
of  Daniel  Leonard,  Esq.,  born  February  25,  1741, 
died  April  4,  A.D.  1768. 

As  the  spotless  lily  amid  ye  flowers  of  ye  field, 

Such  was  ye  departed  among  ye  daughters  of  men. 

There  is  no  flattery  here. 

Though  all  the  world  calls  lovely,  good,  and  great  in 

woman 

Once  enlivened  this  now  inanimate,  yet  in 
Death's  pavilion  no  soothing  eulogy  is  heard, 
Each  action,  sight,  and  sound  bring  solemn  Admonition. 
"Hark,  't  is  ye  voice  of  death, 
Go,  busy,  thoughtless  mortal,  ere  ye  boast  of 
Heraldry,  ye  pomp  of  power  and  all  that 
Beauty,  all  that  wealth  ever  gave,"  explore  ye 
Variant  track  of  those  that  creep,  and  those 
That  fly,  —  trace  every  path  of  life,  —  and 
Mark  ye  end.  All  centre  in  my  empire  — 
Think  thou,  who  never  thought  before  — 
Let  conscience  do  its  office  — 
The  scene  is  closing  fast. 
A  God,  A  "God  Appears" 
The  way  is  lighted  —  study  wisdom! 


CHAPTER  X 
Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

Misses,  The  tale  that  I  relate 

This  lesson  seems  to  carry  — 
Choose  not  alone  a  proper  mate 

But  proper  time  to  marry. 

COWPER. 

PAINE,  in  his  leaning  toward  scientific  re 
search,  discovered  early  that  the  greatest 
of  all  natural  forces  is  the  gravitation  of 
man  towards  woman.  He  has  left  no  heart's 
autobiography  in  rapturous  madrigals  to  Chloris, 
or  sonnets  to  his  mistress'  eyebrow,  composed 
either  before  or  after  marriage;  but  there  are 
smiling  entries  in  his  daily  journal,  and  confiden 
tial  secrets  in  letters  to  Sister  Eunice,  which  light 
up  the  old,  old  truth  that  creatures  are  forever 
going  in  pairs  upon  this  earth. 

"Friendship  is  Love  —  without  his  wings." 
Like  the  mutual  attachment  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb,  Dorothy  and  William  Wordsworth,  the 
Herschels,  Schumanns,  Renans,  was  the  lifelong 
friendship  of  Eunice  and  Robert  Paine.  She  was 
his  first  love,  and  their  affection  was  ever  wing 
less.  Two  years  his  junior,  she  looked  on  the  world 
through  prison  bars  of  invalidism  all  her  days. 
Along  with  reciprocal  medicinal  advice  in  their 
letters  are  many  sprigs  of  sentiment.  As  children, 
[  162] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

they  helped  each  other  with  the  family  chores; 
did  sums  together;  puzzled  their  heads  over 
conundrums  in  Poor  Richard's  Almanac;  coaxed 
pigeons  into  the  house  by  spreading  crumbs  along 
the  window-sill;  slid  down  the  Weymouth  Hills; 
and  sat  side  by  side  in  the  big  box-pew,  playing 
Jack  and  Jill  upon  their  fingers  to  keep  awake. 
When  Robert  went  to  college,  she  visited  him  once 
a  month,  bringing  a  bandbox  full  of  seedcakes, 
currant  jelly,  and  ginger  beer,  made  by  her  own 
hand.  She  took  home  his  washing  and  repaired 
his  clothes.  An  extant  sheaf  of  letters  discloses 
several  of  their  insubstantial  love-afTairs.  He 
wrote  to  her  one  week,  and  she  replied  the  next. 
Once  he  sent  her  a  side-saddle  with  gaudy  trap 
pings,  such  as  the  quality  used,  and  then  addressed 
his  letters  to  the  "Right  Honourable,  the  Lady 
Eunice,  Mistress  of  the  Nag."  Again  he  calls 
her  "Duchess  of  Weymouth,"  and  often  "Dear 
Old  Maid."  She  did  not  resent  this  last  appella 
tion,  and  at  twenty-five  wrote  a  good-humored 
letter  to  Robert  (then  a  lawyer  at  Falmouth), 
asking  if  that  were  "a  good  place  for  a  struggling 
old  maid";  to  which  he  replied  that  if  "ye  old 
maid  be  tired  of  her  condition,  5t  is  no  place  to 
change  it"  -  "  nor  for  a  lawyer  either,"  he  added. 
When  he  left  home  at  nineteen  to  teach  school 
in  Lunenburg,  his  arrival  there  was  described  to  his 
sister  with  a  graphic  account  of  a  rural  tea-party: 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


In  ye  room  were  a  couple  of  —  (ladies  must  I  call 
them?)  No,  good,  honest,  country  girls,  one  of  which 
honestly  confest  yt  that  the  last  time  she  weighed 
herself,  she  weighed  seven  score  and  a  naff  (or  in 
our  dialect  half).  At  first,  I  was  a  little  straitened 
for  conversation,  but  this  girl,  while  I  was  musing, 
asked  me  if  I  intended  to  bring  my  family  to  Lunen- 
burg.  Ha,  ha,  ha!  I  told  her  I  did  not  deal  in  such 
trash;  however,  she  followed  me  so  hard  with  her 
dry  joaks  that  I  thought  two  or  three  times  that  I 
must  have  quit  ye  field.  I  never  was  so  joaked  or 
so  confoundedly  handled  by  a  woman  before,  but 
manfully  I  stood  ye  ground  and  joaked  again  when  I 
could  restrain  laughing. 

I  was  entertained  with  a  dish  of  tea  by  these  — 
(you  Boston  people  have  spoiled  me  quite.  I  had 
e'en  said  Ladys  again)  —  by  those  country  girls.  I 
was  little  at  loss  how  I  should  do  over  ye  tea-table, 
but  I  presently  found  that  he  who  could  mix  most 
milk,  sugar,  and  tea,  then  laugh,  and  spill  most 
milk,  sugar,  and  tea,  was  ye  best  man. 

Soon  we  find  this  lonesome  school-teacher 
writing  to  his  sister  that  he  is  in  love  with  some 
one  "but  doesn't  know  who."  Danger  ahead! 
He  was  in  love  with  the  rosy  passion,  and  soon  a 
Lancaster  belle  was  plucking  at  the  harp  of  his 
heart-strings.  He  confides  to  Eunice: 

I  keep  this  a  profound  secret,  lest  the  enemies  of 
my  peace  should  sing  Te  Deum  to  Venus.  However, 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

I  hope  that  I  have  gotten  over  the  worst  of  it,  and 
expect,  now  that  the  long  evenings  and  still  nights 
are  come  to  invite  to  study,  to  grow  more  serious 
than  ever. 

Again  he  writes : 

Soft  things  I  am  done  with,  they  only  plague  one; 
they  are  truly  like  opiates  to  a  feverish  person;  if 
they  succeed  and  relax  the  fibres,  they  bring  a  sweet 
and  confused  repose,  but  if  they  fail  (and  they  are 
very  precarious),  they  aggravate  the  disorder,  and 
all  ends  in  perfect  distraction.  Therefore,  I  run  no 
such  venture. 

Presently  steeling  himself  against  all  feminine 
charms,  he  closes  with  this  injunction: 

Remember  me  to  no  female  friend  upon  earth. 

Rob't.  (Lord  Shirley.) 

He  was  careful  of  his  sister's  culture,  once 
writing  to  her: 

I  hope  that  you  will  never  affect  to  be  one  of  those 
polite  ladies  who  talk  nonsense  and  bury  it  under  a 
flood  of  words,  which  rush  in  upon  them  without 
ideas;  as  waters  through  a  flood-gate  have  no  fish. 

And  then  inquires  if  she  "has  any  spark  yet." 
Referring  to  a  college  mate  who  visited  him,  he 
wrote : 

I  believe  I  must  send  him  to  court  you;  his  infinite 
good  humor  will  suit  you  to  a  notch.  You  love  just 

[  165] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


such  a  man  as  I  do  a  woman  —  an  easy  good-humored 
nothing. 

With  fraternal  frankness,  he  told  his  afflictions. 
That  youth  has  its  troubles  as  well  as  age,  this 
lamentation  will  testify : 

DEAR  EUNICE: 

I  hear  fine  tidings  of  your  dancing,  frolicking,  and 
nobody  knows  what,  and  I  am  sorry  I  have  such 
pressing  occasion  to  transfer  to  you  some  sorrowful 
tidings  which  will  doubtless  suppress  your  spirits 
and  bring  a  gloom  upon  your  mind.  It  is  your  well- 
approved  maxim  that  troubles  lose  their  force  by 
communicating,  and  then  't  is  the  part  of  friendship 
to  share  in  affliction  as  well  as  in  prosperity.  Afflic 
tions  always  affect  us  more  or  less  according  to  our 
circumstances  when  we  hear  them,  and  I  can  easily 
conceive  how  great  must  be  the  shock  to  you  who 
are  regaling  and  wantoning  at  connubial  festivals, 
to  be  informed  that  your  brother  has  not  got  a  pair  of 
drawers  fit  to  wear.  Ha,  ha!  ha! 

Your,  you  know  what, 

R.  T.  PAINE. 

Eunice  had  her  own  heart-flutters.  Richard 
Cranch,  a  lifelong  friend  of  Robert,  who  had 
come  to  America  as  a  child  and  settled  at  Wey- 
mouth,  was  a  suitor  for  her  hand,  but  his  blood 
was  not  blue  enough  nor  his  purse  full  enough  for 
family  alliance  with  the  Paines. 
[  166] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

Thomas  Paine  wrote  to  Richard  Cranch,  May 


As  to  my  daughter,  the  great  affair  of  matching 
her,  I  (perplexed)  must  leave  to  her  own  inclinations, 
hoping  they  will  be  prudently  directed.  She  is  now 
the  greatest  care  of  my  life,  as  her  sister  is  settled  and 
brother  in  good  circumstances,  and  the  necessary 
supplys  to  settle  her  in  the  world  are  at  present  per 
plexed.  But  they  will  be  considerable,  if  I  can  get 
over  the  incumbrances  of  the  law,  in  which  I  am 
now  involved,  and  how  long  they  will  last  I  can't  see. 
To  secure  her  in  this,  is  now  the  whole  cause  of  my 
abiding  the  present  fatigue,  and  I  can't  think  it 
prudent  for  her  to  engage  herself  in  marriage,  while  I 
am  in  these  circumstances. 

So  Richard  is  dismissed;  but  having  his  heart 
set  on  a  minister's  daughter,  he  transferred  his 
affections  to  Betsy  Smith,  and  became  brother- 
in-law  to  Abigail  Adams. 

Next  comes  a  long-distance  wooing.  February 
2,  1756,  Thomas  Paine  wrote  to  his  daughter  from 
Halifax: 

I  have  to  inform  you  that  Mr.  Eben'r  Prout,  whom 
you  formerly  knew,  is  now  in  a  very  good  business 
here,  and  has  made  a  proposal  to  me,  that  if  I  sent  for 
you  to  come  down  here,  and  it  would  not  be  dis 
agreeable  to  you,  he  should  be  glad  to  make  you  his 
spouse;  and  upon  these  conditions  I  should  incline 
you  would  come;  otherwise  would  not  on  any  ac- 

[  167] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


count.    I  leave  you  wholly  to  your  own  liberty  in 
respect  to  the  above. 

Eunice,  in  excitement,  instinctively  and  imme 
diately  wrote  to  Brother  Bob  —  laying  bare  the 
emotion  within  her  bosom.  He  replied  in  an  ex 
tended  letter  dissuading  her  from  the  proposed 
step,  by  reminding  her  of  her  delicate  health, 
picturing  the  care  of  children,  with  the  father  at 
sea  and  "no  knowing  when  he  will  return,"  ques 
tioning  whether  a  sea-captain  could  satisfy  the 
mind  of  a  minister's  daughter,  dwelling  on  the 
possibility  of  a  marriage  beneath  her  station, 
and  closing  at  length:  "But  if  you  can  find  a 
friend  nearer  than  a  brother,  may  Heaven  bless 
the  alliance."  She  pondered  the  question  deeply 
and  finally  accepted  —  her  brother's  counsel, 
sending  this  pointed  reply  to  Ebenezer,  who 
would  not  meet  his  ladylove  even  halfway. 

BOSTON,  March  8,  1756. 
SIR: 

I  rec'd  inclos'd  in  my  Father's  last  a  very  unex 
pected  epistle,  which  I  suppose  I  must  make  an  an 
swer  to,  seeing  I  shan't  make  my  appearance,  as  was 
desired.  I  am  surprised  you  should  venture  so  far 
in  an  affair  of  so  great  importance,  when  you  are  so 
unacquainted  with  the  bargain,  for  surely  could  you 
know  what  you  are  delivered  from  by  my  refusal, 
you'd  bless  yourself;  and  take  more  care  for  the  fu 
ture  how  you  run  such  a  hazard.  My  being  so  entire 
[  168] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

a  stranger  I  should  think  as  sufficient  objection,  but 
my  ill  state  of  health  has  for  many  months  obliged 
me  to  depend  chiefly  on  the  care  of  my  doctor  and 
nurse,  and  tho'  at  this  present  I  am  something  bet 
ter,  yet  far  from  being  able  to  take  any  care  or  do 
any  business;  this  declaration  I  suppose  will  suffice, 
instead  of  a  more  formal  refusal.  I  heartily  wish  you 
all  manner  of  prosperity,  and  especially  that  you  may 
be  more  happy  in  your  next  attempt  of  this  kind. 
The  simplicity  of  this  letter  will  show  my  sincerity 
and  how  heartily  I  wish  your  welfare.  I  will  now  take 
leave  to  subscribe  myself 

Your  humble  servant, 

EUNICE  PAINE. 

Thus  Eunice  accepts  a  patient  acquiescence  in 
the  conjugal  joys  of  others,  her  maidenly  resigna 
tion  mingled  with  dreams  of  what  might  have 
been.  In  single  blessedness  she  hung  upon  her 
brother's  left  arm  for  life.  She  became  "Aunt 
Eunice"  to  the  family,  the  ever-reliable  stay  to  care 
for  the  children,  to  mend  their  worn  and  torn  gar 
ments,  teach  them  letters  and  manners  (occasion 
ally  removing  a  slipper  to  emphasize  her  corrective 
counsel),  read  Watts's  Moral  Songs  l  at  bedtime 
to  enliven  their  dreams;  to  question  them  on  Sun 
day  about  the  stories  of  the  Old  Testament;  in 

1  For  instance: 

Why  should  I  love  my  sports  so  well, 

So  constant  at  my  play, 
And  lose  the  thought  of  Heaven  and  Hell 

And  then  forget  to  pray? 

[  169] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


short,  to  supply  in  Paine's  homes  in  Taunton  and 
Boston  the  help,  sympathy,  and  advice  of  what 
the  French  call  the  "little  mother."  When  the 
Revolutionary  embargo  was  laid  on  oolong  and 
hyson,  she  cheerfully  brewed  catnip  in  the  after 
noon  tea-pot.  When  not  at  her  brother's,  she 
stayed  with  her  sister,  Abigail  Greenleaf ,  or  at  the 
house  of  General  Joseph  Palmer  in  Germantown, 
where  her  days  were  ended  in  1804. 

Abigail  Paine,  four  years  older  than  Robert, 
was  not  so  intimate  a  companion  as  Eunice,  act 
ing  more  in  the  capacity  of  a  guardian  angel.1 
When  Robert  was  a  senior  sophister  at  Harvard, 
Abigail  considered  his  judgment  mature  enough 
to  advise  her  in  her  most  delicate  affairs.  She 
writes  to  him,  March  4,  1749: 

DEAR  BROTHER: 

As  I  would  look  upon  you  as  a  friend  as  well  as  a 
brother  I  will  take  this  time  to  inform  you  of  an 

1  In  a  letter  to  Bob  at  college  she  gives  a  glimpse  into  their 
domestic  affairs: 

I  have  a  merry  piece  of  news  to  write  you  of  a  strange  accident  which 
happened  to  us.  Last  Thursday  night,  father  took  uncommon  care  to 
charge  Freeman  to  shut  the  house,  and  he  said  that  he  had  done  it, 
which  made  us  all  neglect  to  look  at  the  fore-door  and  so  went  to  bed 
with  it  open;  sometime  before  we  arose,  somebody  came  in,  opened  all 
the  inner  doors,  and  went  into  the  pantry  and  took  a  bottle  full  of 
rum  out  of  the  case,  and  part  of  a  loin  of  roast  veal  out  of  a  dish,  and 
left  a  spoon  and  porringer  and  three  teaspoons  on  the  shelf  in  open 
view;  from  whence  they  advanced  into  the  kitchen  and  took  a  loaf  of 
brown  bread  and  the  sugar-box,  and  three  pocket  handkerchiefs  out 
of  a  basket  of  clothes;  and  so  departed  without  any  further  mischief, 
which  I  look  upon  to  be  very  honest  in  a  thief;  it  has  caused  abundance 
of  laughter  amongst  us. 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

affair  of  my  own,  that  I  make  no  doubt  will  surprise 
you  as  it  had  me.  Father  has  at  length  approved  of 
Mr.  Greenleaf  s  request  to  visit  me,  and  has  given 
his  consent  and  has  taken  some  pains  in  a  very  ten 
der  manner  to  persuade  me  to  comply  with 's 

request.  Were  it  not  for  this  and  the  reason  he  urges, 
I  should  have  no  thought  but  to  refuse  without 
consideration.  But  his  urging  it  in  any  degree  is  so 
strange,  I  know  not  what  to  say.  Many  of  his  rea 
sons  are  too  tedious  to  name,  but  one,  a  considera 
tion  of  my  age,  and  his  circumstances  not  being  so 
promising  as  some  years  past,  by  reason  of  many 
losses  and  disappointments,  and  his  infirmities  of 
body  and  age  come  on;  which  makes  him  desirous  to 
have  me  settled,  and  he  thinks  this  is  a  good  pro 
spect  for  a  living;  his  only  objection,  what  we  all 
know,  the  family.  Pray  let  me  know  your  thoughts 
upon  this  by  bearer,  for  on  Monday  night  I  shall  see 
him  again;  if  you  think  't  is  not,  I  will  dismiss  the 
point. 

As  the  point  was  not  "dismissed,"  shall  we  con 
clude  that  Robert  approved,  or  otherwise?  He 
attended  the  wedding  in  October. 

Though  keen  for  feminine  charms,  Robert  was 
a  tardy  benedict.  We  know  that  many  blossoms 
of  his  heart  dropped  their  petals  without  fruiting. 
His  journal  and  letters  arouse  conjecture  by  re 
ferences  to  Betsy  Watson,  Elizabeth  McKinstry, 
Anna  White,  Sally  LeBaron,  Hannah  Quincy,  not 
to  mention  the  fair  deer-stalker  of  the  Carolinas 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


or  the  belles  of  Lancaster.  Such  an  entry  in  his 
journal  as  "Rode  to  Plymouth  with  Sally  Le- 
Baron"  calls  up  the  picture  of  a  "one-hoss  shay" 
bouncing  over  long  sandy  roads  while  the  occu 
pants  cozily  discuss  intimate  affairs.  "May  9, 
1763.  This  evening  began  to  visit  Miss  Betsy 
Watson  at  Plymouth"  suggests  the  premeditated 
siege  of  that  lady's  heart.  His  legal  affairs  fre 
quently  took  him  to  Plymouth  where  he  was  often 
a  guest  of  Colonel  George  Watson.  Paine,  now 
in  his  thirties,  replies  to  the  question,  "What  do 
you  think  of  the  Writs  of  Assistance?"  — "I 
think  of  taking  out  writs  of  assistance  for  myself." 
For  some  reason  his  suit  was  quashed  by  these 
two  daughters  of  the  Pilgrims,  who  appear  to  have 
married  respectively  admirers  by  the  nameof  Clark 
and  Barnes. 

Why  did  he  not  marry  until  in  his  fortieth  year? 
Was  it  lack  of  money?  A  well-dowered  lady  was 
then  an  essential  consideration.  Was  it  infirm 
health  ?  Like  Hancock,  another  matrimonial  pro- 
crastinator,  he  was  always  ailing.  Was  it  his  per 
sonal  appearance?  When  we  add  to  his  facial 
portrait  a  lank  figure,  thin  neck,  and  spindling  legs, 
the  result  is  no  rival  to  Hyperion.  Was  it  his 
manners?  Adams  says,  " By  his  boldness  in  Com 
pany,  he  makes  a  great  many  enemies ;  his  aim  is 
to  be  admired,  not  to  be  loved;  this  impudent  be 
haviour  may  set  the  millions  agape  at  him,  but  will 

[  172] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

make  all  men  of  sense  despise  him."  Did  he  have 
too  many  flames  ?  Was  family  pride  too  exacting 
in  its  demands? 

One  day  in  the  autumn  of  1768  there  was  a  gay 
spinning-bee  near  Taunton  Green,  described  thus 
in  the  Boston  "Gazette": 

Twice  ten  young  blooming  virgins  trod  the  Green 
With  all  their  native  virtues  of  sixteen. 
Beauty  when  joined  to  such  superior  charms 
Might  draw  the  desert  hermit  to  their  arms. 

Whether  this  quatrain  was  from  the  pen  of  Leonard 
(married  the  year  before)  and  the  "desert  hermit" 
a  sly  dig  at  his  unmarried  rival,  or  whether  Paine, 
who  was  a  correspondent  of  Boston  newspapers, 
was  the  rhymester,  who  shall  say?  When  die  new 
lawyer  took  up  his  residence  in  Taunton,  —  well 
born,  witty,  well-educated,  —  he  held  passports 
to  the  best  society,  and  cultivated  those  leading 
families  in  which  were  marriageable  maidens. 
His  first  Thanksgiving  dinner  in  Taunton  was 
eaten  at  Thomas  Cobb's  tavern  in  1760.  Captain 
Cobb  was  a  religious  man  and  presumably  nodded 
to  his  guest  to  ask  the  blessing,  since  the  young 
lawyer  could  not  have  wholly  forgotten  his  min 
isterial  experiences.  Who  doubts  that  Sally  Cobb, 
then  apple-cheeked,  saucy,  and  sixteen,  waited 
on  the  table,  passing  drum-sticks,  dumpling, 
celery,  and  syllabub?  and  that  here  was  the  first 
stitch  by  Cupid,  the  sly,  old  tailor,  in  basting 
[  173] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


these  two  hearts  together?  Yet  ten  years  passed 
before  the  wedding-knot  was  tied. 

After  Sally,  amorous  and  comely  at  two-and- 
twenty,  removed  to  Attleboro,  her  ripe  charms 
lingered  in  Paine's  eyes.  By  the  summer  of  1766 
affairs  took  a  serious  turn.  Data  of  progress  are 
found  in  Paine's  journal : 

November,  1760.  Spent  Thanksgiving  at  Cobb's 
house. 

October,  1762.  Mrs.  Lydia  Cobb  died,  and  Miss 
Sally  took  charge  of  things. 

July,  1766.   Began  to  visit  Sally  Cobb. 

February  28,  1770.  This  day  I  was  published  to 
marry  Sally  Cobb. 

March  15,  1770.  This  evening  I  was  married  to 
Miss  Sally  Cobb  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Weld. 

Sally  was  born  May  15,  1744,  of  sturdy  stock 
rooted  deep  in  the  soil  of  Taunton.  Henry  Cobb, 
the  emigrant,  was  a  ruling  elder  of  Barnstable. 
His  grandson  came  to  Taunton  about  1690  and 
settled  at  Oakland  Village,  as  Cobb  Swamp  there 
would  indicate.  Ensign  Morgan  Cobb  made  the 
first  map  of  Taunton  in  1728.  Captain  Richard 
Cobb  was  killed  at  an  Oakland  muster  in  1772, 
the  accident  being  thus  curiously  recorded  by 
General  Godfrey: 

November  7,  1772.  Capt.  Richard  Cobb  died  by 
his  Right  legg  being  shot  of  by  the  splitting  of  a  short 

[  174] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

Barell  of  a  Gun  at  Left  Wm.  Thayers  on  the  4th  day 
of  sd  November,  being  a  Training  day  and  cut  of 
above  his  knee  sd  7th  day  Died. 

Thomas  Cobb  (born  1705)  was  first  sea-captain, 
then  tavern-keeper,  then  iron-maker  with  James 
Leonard,  whose  daughter  Lydia  he  married. 
Lydia  Leonard  was  a  woman  of  sound  character 
and  of  such  worth  that  the  Taunton  society  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  honor 
her  memory  in  taking  her  name  for  their  chapter. 
At  his  marriage,  Captain  Cobb  became  an  iron 
worker,  because  of  his  wife's  portion  in  the  works 
at  Chartley  and  Attleboro.1  In  the  latter  town 
he  purchased  for  a  home  a  large  octagonal 
house  (built  by  a  rich  old  bachelor  and  known  as 
the  "Chapel"),  with  stone  flags  on  the  lower 
floor,  and  triangular  rooms  radiating  from  a  cen 
tral  hall.  The  family  lived  upstairs,  the  slaves 
below.2  November  5,  1761,  Rev.  Josiah  Crocker, 
the  minister  of  Taunton,  whose  son  was  a  Har 
vard  classmate  of  Daniel  Leonard,  was  married, 
with  great  display,  at  the  "  Chapel,"  to  the  daugh 
ter,  Hannah  Cobb,  as  his  second  wife.  The  two 
sons,  Thomas  and  Jonathan  Cobb,  were  iron 
manufacturers. 

1  Daniel  Leonard  was  a  third  cousin  of  Sally  Cobb,  and  as 
children  they  might  play  together  at  Chartley. 

2  Thomas  Cobb  gave  his  negro,  Cuff,  his  freedom  May  7, 
1779. 

[175] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  best  known  member  of  this  family  was 
David,  born  in  1748,  who  at  seventeen  married 
Eleanor  Bradish,  and  became  the  father  of  eleven 
children.1  A  billet  found  in  an  old  Taunton 
ledger,  gives  this  portrait  of  the  wife  : 

Eleanor  Cobb  is  a  very  amiable  young  lady;  she 
not  only  possesses  an  outward  dignity  which  instan 
taneously  and  warmly  prepossesses  all  in  her  favor, 
—  but  what  is  infinitely  greater,  —  she  has  a  mind 
equivalent  to  each  outward  charm,  grace  in  all  her 
steps;  heaven  in  her  eyes;  and  in  every  gesture  dig 
nity  and  love.2 

David  was  a  doctor,  entered  the  army  in  the 
Revolution,  and  became  lieutenant-colonel.  After 
the  war  he  was  made  judge  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  as  a  reward  for  his  military  service.  He  was 
of  strapping  stature,  and  was  equipped  with  a 
robust  vocabulary.  He  had  led  a  force  of  militia 
at  Quaker  Hill  in  Rhode  Island  (in  1 777) ,  and  stands 
out  as  the  defender  of  law  and  order,  October  5, 
1786,  in  Valentine's  mob-attack  at  Taunton  dur 
ing  Shays's  Rebellion.  We  may  fancy  the  enraged 
veteran  striding  into  his  house  roaring,  "Mother, 
bring  out  my  old  regimentals.  Damme,  I'll  sit 
as  a  judge  or  die  as  a  general."  But  he  did 

1  Among  his  descendants  were  the  late  Mayor  Cobb  of  Boston 
and  former  Governor  Curtis  Guild. 

2  Paine's  diary  reads:  "April  1767:  I  scolded   at  Cobb's  wife 
before  him." 

[176] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

neither.1  When  the  judge  reappeared  in  mili 
tary  majesty,  epauletted  coat  and  sword  in 
hand,  the  rebel  tatterdemalions  dispersed  with 
out  bloodshed  and  the  court  was  discreetly  ad 
journed.  David  used  sulphurous  language,  swear 
ing  not  only  on  occasions  of  high  temper,  but  in 
peaceful  conversation  and  in  letters;  in  later  years 
the  minister  used  to  call  upon  him  to  swear  by 
proxy.  Coming  out  in  the  morning  and  no 
ticing  that  the  vanes  on  the  court-house  and  the 
meeting-house  did  not  agree,  he  observed  to  his 
brother-in-law,  "The  Law  and  Gospel  seldom 
point  the  same  way."  He  was  with  Washington 
at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  and  later  visited 
Mount  Vernon.2 

At  the  age  of  eighteen,  Sally  Cobb  became  mis 
tress  of  household  affairs  in  her  father's  tavern 
on  the  site  of  the  Taunton  post-office.  She  was 
a  ready  hand  to  rake  hay,  feed  chickens,  try  tal 
low,  mould  bayberry  candles,  or  mix  a  noggin  of 
punch.  She  was  not  one  who  might  yearn  to  be 
"married  to  a  poem  and  given  away  by  a  novel." 
Girls  were  educated  on  short  rations  —  feminine 
learning  may  have  been  considered  contrary  to 
New  Testament  teachings.  But  the  warmth  of 

1  Francis  Baylies  may  have  put  these  words  into  his  mouth 
forty  years  later. 

2  At  West  Point,  when  weighed  along  with  fellow-officers, 
Cobb's  weight  was  182  pounds,  while  Washington  weighed 
209. 

[177] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


her  nature  succeeded  in  melting  Paine's  celibacy. 
Banns  were  published  in  Attleboro  February  28, 
1770;  on  March  15,  a  few  days  after  Leonard's 
second  marriage,  Paine  put  on  his  wedding-coat 
and  drove  up  through  the  odorous  spring  woods 
from  Taunton,  to  be  married  that  evening. 
There  was  no  ostentation  about  this  wedding  at 
the  "Chapel"  when  Sally,  buxom  and  blushing, 
was  united  with  the  worldly-wise  Robert,  some 
thirteen  years  her  senior.  Two  months  later,  May 
14,  the  union  was  blessed  with  a  bouncing  boy.1 
With  his  wife  came  a  dowry,  and  soon  Paine 
purchased  land  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  Green. 
October  14,  1771,  there  was  a  house-raising,  with 
a  cask  of  cider  and  much  Jamaica  rum;  ninety- 
eight  days  later  the  plaster  was  thought  dry 
enough  for  the  family  to  enter  but  the  infare  oc 
curred  in  a  driving  snowstorm.  Sally  could  now 
put  on  her  calash  and  run  across  toCaldwell's  store 
for  a  bar  of  soap  or  a  string  of  herring;  and  over  to 
her  older  sister's  to  get  advice  in  domestic  trials, 
while  her  brother's  stentorian  voice  could  call 
across  the  Green  to  consult  her  husband  on  poli 
tics  or  business.  In  this  house  four  of  Sally's 
children  were  born,  and  here  she  lived  till  the 
removal  to  Boston.2 

1  The  great  author  of  the  Seven  Ages  himself  was  hardly  an 
idealist  in  his  own  Age  of  the  Lover. 

2  After  the  success  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  Americans 

[178] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

Paine's  wife,  though  unable  to  keep  step  with 
her  husband's  advanced  tastes  and  thoughts, 
admired  him  for  his  reserved  manners  and  his 
official  dignities.  Her  pride  in  his  distinction  is 
manifest  in  a  letter  in  which  she  mentions  that 
Norton  had  chosen  "a  market  woman's  husband" 
as  representative  in  the  General  Court,  adding,  "A 
sweet  figure  they  cut."  John  and  Abigail  Adams 
during  their  separation  for  a  third  of  their  mar 
ried  life  (which  Abigail  said  was  the  secret  of 
their  conjugal  happiness),  kept  up  a  snowstorm  of 
letters,  but  letters  from  Paine  to  his  wife  during 
his  two  years  in  Congress  were  few.  Writing  to 
Dr.  Cobb  from  Philadelphia,  he  says,  "Let  my 
wife  read  this  letter;  I  have  n't  time  to  write 
her." 

Two  of  the  Massachusetts  delegates  took  their 
wives  with  them;  the  others  lived  as  bachelors 
and  were  much  sought  after  for  evening  func 
tions,  which  they  found  an  agreeable  change 
after  the  worries  of  the  day. 

The  Old  Colony  delegate  left  his  wife  at  home 
with  a  newly  born  child,  when  he  made  his  third 
trip  to  Philadelphia  in  September,  1775 .  The  win 
ter  came  —  no  husband;  the  spring  came  —  still 

began  to  show  their  sympathy  by  adopting  the  French  name 
"hotel"  for  taverns.  Paine's  Taunton  house  was  converted 
into  the  Washington  Hotel,  and  about  the  same  time  Leonard's 
mansion  became  a  coffee-house. 

[  179] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


he  tarried;  summer  came —  "I'll  be  home  soon," 
he  wrote;  "tell  Robert  I  have  a  toy  dog  for  him;" 
autumn  came — "I  expect  we  shall  both  walk 
with  cains  before  I  see  you,"  wrote  the  wife.  At 
length,  Sally  hinted  that  there  were  pretty  wo 
men  in  Philadelphia,  inquired  if  he  liked  their 
looks,  and  presently  wrote  that  she  dreamed  of 
seeing  his  new  wife  in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love, 
and  awoke  in  a  great  fright.  And  the  dream  was 
so  far  true  —  that  a  famous  young  lady,  receiv 
ing  the  attentions  of  her  fifty  gallants,  was  mak 
ing  her  debut  in  a  gown  of  red,  white,  and  blue, 
—  her  name  was  Columbia. 

Paine  was  absent  from  September,  1775,  to 
January,  1777.  In  this  period,  when  his  mind 
was  engrossed  with  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
new  empire,  a  few  letters  from  his  wife  shed 
light  upon  the  intimacies  of  home  affairs.  Had 
Sally  not  shown  a  humorous  turn,  these  clip 
pings  might  suggest  the  wail  of  an  unappreciated 
spouse. 

February  n,  1776: 

I  expected  you  would  have  inquired  after  your 
children's  welfare  before  this  time,  but  I  believe  you 
have  forgotten  them  as  well  as  me,  but  I  hope  that 
when  you  have  your  second  wife  you  will  not  forget 
her. 

I  have  heard  that  you  are  in  great  spirits  and 
don't  want  to  come  home.  As  the  Irishman  said  I 
[  180] 


Aunt  Eunice  and  Sally  Cobb 

was  afraid  you  would  come  home  dead.    I  remain 
your  affectionate  wife  though  neglected. 

May  12,  1776: 

I  have  n't  rec'd  a  letter  since  March,  for  what  rea 
son  I  don't  know,  without  it  is  as  Jos.  Crocker  says 
that  you  have  got  a  new  w — f,  be  that  as  it  may  be  I 
should  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  and  when  you  desire 
to  meet  the  old  one.  .  .  A  court  on  March  17,  1776, 
was  broken  up  by  a  crew  with  sticks  and  clubs  and 
compelled  to  sit  at  Mr.  Crocker's.  .  .  We  have  had 
one  of  our  dreadful  trainings  to-day  and  my  head  is 
almost  drummed  off. 

October,  1776: 

I  am  not  willing  to  think  that  you  are  unmindful 
of  home,  though  you  have  a  new  wife.  I  saw  her  the 
other  night,  she  was  very  sassy  and  began  to  claim 
her  right  and  I  turned  her  out  of  doors.  In  doing  so  I 
woke  in  a  great  fright. 

Thirteen  years  his  junior,  the  young  wife  was 
naturally  a  bit  jealous  of  her  husband.  When  the 
family  removed  to  Boston,  Sally's  life  was  one  of 
complete  domestic  employment,  caring  for  her 
brood  of  children,  and  later  for  her  grandchildren, 
who  lived  with  her.  She  was  busy  keeping  her 
house  in  order,  churning  butter,  attending  to  the 
flower  garden,  entertaining  her  guests;  and  every 
spring  sent  Jedidiah,  the  hired  man,  with  her 
[  181] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


carpets  over  to  Boston  Common  for  the  annual 
beating.  She  had  a  tender  feeling  for  the  wild 
poet-son,  Robert  Treat,  Jr.,  when  his  father's 
face  was  turned  against  him.  She  followed,  one 
after  another,  all  four  of  her  boys  to  the  grave, 
and  died,  a  widow,  in  June,  1816. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

He  who  marries  a  second  time  does  n't  deserve  the  loss  of  the  first 
wife.  —  Old  Proverb. 

DANIEL  LEONARD  prided  himself  on 
being  the  glass  of  fashion  and  the  mould 
of  form,  but  discerning  women  saw  in 
him  a  nobility  not  wholly  imparted  by  the  barber, 
the  tailor,  or  a  study  of  Chesterfield.  Polite  and 
engaging,  he  was  a  beau  any  belle  might  be  happy 
to  catch.  The  dazzling,  dashing,  gaming  quali 
ties  of  Daniel  were  satirized  in  a  play  by  Mercy 
Warren,  sister  of  the  fiery  James  Otis,  and  wife 
of  James  Warren,  Speaker  of  the  Revolutionary 
Assembly.1  "The  Group  "  is  now  read,  not  be 
cause  of  its  literary  merit,  but  for  its  whimsical 
references  to  the  men  and  politics  of  that  day. 
Published  in  1775,  it  ridicules  the  most  notable 
Tories,  introducing  them  under  strange  appella- 

1  Madam  Warren  shared  with  Abigail  and  Hannah  Adams 
the  feminine  literary  glory  of  the  Revolutionary  period  in 
Massachusetts.  Her  Plymouth  home  was  the  resort  of  visiting 
lawyers;  at  her  table,  Leonard  and  Paine  were  guests  while  at 
tending  the  County  Court;  intermittently  she  had  intimate 
friendship  with  John  Adams,  who  wrote  of  her  satirical  play, 
"The  Group": 

There  was  but  one  person  in  the  world,  male  or  female,  who  could  at 
that  time,  in  my  opinion,  have  written  it;  and  that  person  was  Madam 
Mercy  Warren. 

I  183] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


tions,  like  "Hateall,"  "  Scriblerus,"  "Hum-Hum 
bug,"  "Hazelrod,"  and  so  on.  In  a  copy  at  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  the  persons  caricatured  are 
identified:  "Hazelrod"  is  Peter  Oliver;  "Meagre," 
Foster  Hutchinson;  "Hateall,"  Timothy  Ruggles; 
"Scriblerus,"  Jonathan  Sewall;  "Beau  Trumps," 
Daniel  Leonard. 

Here  Leonard,  whose  foibles  were  well  known, 
was  impaled  under  that  clever  sobriquet,  a  curious 
combination  of  French  and  English  words.  The 
aesthetic  taste  of  Taunton  centred  in  him.  He  had 
an  eye  for  a  deftly  curled  wig;  his  elegant  waist 
coats  and  elaborate  manners  contributed  topics  for 
the  persiflage  of  ladies'  tea-tables ;  and  his  scrupu 
lous  toilet  as  a  "macaroni"  is  thus  described  by 
John  Adams :  "Velvet  coat,  neckerchiefs  and  wrist 
falls  of  exquisite  Irish  lace,  satin  trousers,  and 
silver  embroidered  on  his  cocked  hat."  Natty, 
spruce,  personable,  he  answered  the  requirements 
of  an  English  squire,  "well  fed,  well  read,  well 
bred."  Paine  was  characterized  by  moral  earnest 
ness;  Leonard  by  a  Bourbon  culture.  Traits  of  the 
Puritan  appear  in  Paine;  in  Leonard,  those  of  the 
Cavalier.  Matthew  Arnold  would  have  classified 
them  as  Hebraic  and  Hellenic.  If  you  were  to  have 
a  jovial  midnight  supper,  a  rollicking  fox  hunt,  a 
campaign  speech  at  election,  a  dress-parade  in 
military  trappings,  Leonard  was  your  man;  but 
if  you  wished  for  an  impromptu  blessing  at  a 

[  184] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

dinner-party,  or  a  discussion  of  theology  over  an 
afternoon  teacup,  or  were  looking  for  a  pall 
bearer,  or  moderator  of  a  town  meeting,  you  would 
turn  to  Paine.  Jonathan  Sewall  said  that  Adams 
"would  never  shine  at  court  as  an  ambassador, 
as  he  could  not  dance,  drink,  game,  dress,  and 
flirt  with  the  ladies."  This  might  apply  to  Paine, 
but  never  to  Leonard.  For  him  woman  had  a 
wondrous  fascination,  and  Trumbull,  in  his  "Mc- 
Fingal "  refers  to  him  thus : 

Scribbled  every  moment  he  could  spare 
From  cards,  the  barber,  and  the  fair. 

So  much  for  Leonard  as  a  "beau."  The  other 
word  of  Leonard's  sobriquet  is  explained  in  "  every 
moment  he  could  spare  from  cards."  He  was  an 
inveterate  card-player;  inordinately  fond  of  the 
company  of  the  gorgeous  kings  and  queens  in  the 
pack.  When  a  youth  inquired  of  the  venerable 
Paine  about  Leonard,  the  Judge  mused  a  moment 
and  replied,  "Yes,  Daniel  was  a  clever  fellow  — 
but  too  fond  of  cards !  too  fond  of  cards !  He  never 
was  at  ease  in  company  till  cards  were  intro 
duced."  There  is  no  evidence  that  Paine  knew 
"jack"  from  "joker."  It  never  entered  into  his 
plan  of  life  to  fritter  away  the  night  over  seven- 
up,  quadrille,  whist,  or  piquet.1  He  had  the  Pu- 

1  He  did  not  agree  with  Talleyrand,  who  wrote  to  one  who 
could  find  no  joy  in  cards,  "Quelle  triste  vieillesse  vous  vous 
prepare?." 

[  185] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


ritan  abhorrence  of  the  pack  as  "tickets  for  Hell," 
and  took  the  same  view  of  card-playing  as  John 
Adams,  who  wrote: 

It  gratifies  none  of  the  senses,  neither  sight,  hear 
ing,  taste,  smelling,  nor  feeling.  It  can  entertain  the 
mind  only  by  hushing  its  clamors.  Cards,  back 
gammon,  etc.,  are  genteel  antidotes  to  reflection,  to 
thinking  —  that  cruel  tyrant  within  us. 

So  while  Leonard,  Dr.  Cobb,  and  their  visiting 
friends  lighted  their  long-stemmed  pipes,  set 
their  mugs  of  toddy  in  the  ashes  on  the  hearth, 
and  shuffled  the  greasy  deck  till  midnight,  laying 
down  a  few  shillings  to  spice  the  game,  Paine  took 
the  key  from  his  pocket,  wound  his  big  watch, 
and  with  a  night-cap  joke,  put  a  pinch  of  pep 
per  in  his  mulled  cider  and  went  early  to  bed.1 
Leonard  enjoyed  the  zest  of  chance,  and  in  this 
day  might  have  developed  the  "poker  face." 
We  need  not  suppose  that  he  learned  all  his  card 
games  in  Norton.  Those  fines  at  Harvard  might 
perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  a  cozy  game  with 

1  As  he  arose  betimes  to  visit  Woodward's  Springs,  for  a 
morning  draught  of  the  iron-water,  he  may  have  passed  Leonard 
on  the  stairs  on  his  way  to  bed,  as  Clay  and  John  Quincy  Adams 
are  reported  to  have  met  while  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  was  making. 
Adams,  the  early  riser,  greeted  his  colleague  with  "Good  morn 
ing,"  to  which  Clay,  after  spending  the  night  at  the  gaming 
table,  retorted  "Good  night." 

[  186] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

college  chums  in  a  back  room  of  the  "  Bunch  of 
Grapes"  Tavern.  When  following  the  circuit 
plenty  of  fellow-barristers  would  join  his  evening 
game;  when  penned  up  in  Boston  during  the  siege, 
he  could  take  a  hand  with  the  ever-ready  British 
officers,  for  as  Solicitor  to  the  Customs  he  could 
meet  them  on  an  equality.1  Later,  picture  him 
with  his  fellow-exiles  in  the  Adelphi  Coffee-House 
or  at  Almack's  in  London,  whiling  away  days 
of  anxiety  by  piquet,  when  winnings  and  losses 
were  of  necessity  small,  because  remittances  from 
America  were  meagre.  At  Bermuda,  we  fancy  the 
courtly  old  judge  enjoying  his  otium  cum  dignitate, 
his  white-stockinged  legs  stretched  under  a  ma 
hogany  table,  as  he  joins  the  Governor,  or  Tom 
Moore  for  an  afternoon  game,  with  mint  julep 
handy  on  the  buffet.  Through  life  he  played  a 
gentleman's  game,  but  the  cards  went  against 
him. 

So  Leonard  stands  as  "Beau  Trumps,"  in  the 
play.  His  first  cue  follows: 

1  At  this  time,  a  game  called  "  Boston  "  originated  among  these 
British  soldiers.  It  is  now  probably  forgotten  in  the  North, 
but  if  you  should  chance  to  be  walking  up  Canal  Street  in  New 
Orleans  with  eyes  bent  to  the  ground,  you  might  observe  among 
the  signs  embedded  in  the  banquette  the  words  "Boston  Club." 
Imagination  would  naturally  conjecture  "A  Society  from  Mass 
achusetts";  but  should  you  enter,  you  would  find  the  members 
playing  this  old  Revolutionary  game  of  cards. 

[  187] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


THE  GROUP  — ACT  II 

A  large  dining  room,  the  table  furnished  with  bowls,  bottles, 
glasses  and  cards.  The  Group  appears  sitting  around  it  in 
restless  attitudes  In  one  corner  of  the  room  is  discovered 
a  small  cabinet  of  books  for  the  use  of  the  studious  and 
contemplative,  containing  Hobbes's  "Leviathan,"  Sib- 
thorp's  "Sermons,"  Hutchinson's  "History,"  the  "Fable 
of  the  Bees,"  Philalethes  on  "Philanthropy,"  with  an 
appendix  by  Massachusettensis,  "Hoyle  on  Whist," 
"Lives  of  the  Stewarts,"  "Statutes"  of  Henry  the  Eighth 
and  William  the  Conqueror,  Wedderburn's  "  Speeches  and 
Acts  of  Parliament,"  for  1774. 

SCENE  I 

HATEALL,  HAZELROD,  MONSIEUR,  BEAU  TRUMPS,  SIMPLE, 
HUMBUG,  SIR  SPARROW,  ETC.  SCRIBLERUS  and  MON 
SIEUR  are  engaged  in  dialogue  when  BEAU  TRUMPS  enters 
with  Grandisonian  air  and  speaks  : 

That's  right,  Monsieur, 

There's  nought  on  earth  that  has  such  tempting  charm 
As  rank  and  show  and  pomp  and  glittering  dress, 
Save  the  dear  counters  at  beloved  quadrille, 
Viner  unsoiled  and  Littleton  may  sleep, 
And  Coke  lie  mouldering  on  the  dusty  shelf, 
If  I  by  shuffling  draw  some  lucky  card 
That  wins  the  livers  some  lucrative  place. 

The  Leonards  were  an  uxorious  clan.  Ephraim 
was  so  fond  of  his  first  wife  that  he  repeated  his 
"venture"  again  and  again.  To  remain  single 
after  experiencing  so  many  stepmothers,  especially 
when  ample  means  of  display  would  come  with  a 
[  188] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

wife,  was  out  of  the  question  with  Daniel.  So 
in  tribute  to  the  lovely  Anna,  he  soon  sought  a 
new  wife,  —  as  much  like  the  first  as  possible. 
In  1770,  his  star  was  in  the  ascendant.  He  was 
now  King's  Attorney,  member  of  the  General 
Court,  and  his  law  practice  was  beginning  to  be 
lucrative.  Since  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  was,  like 
Paine,  living  at  McWhorter's  Tavern,  while  Ann 
Barney,  at  Grandmother  White's,  was  caring  for 
his  motherless  babe.  The  year  that  Daniel  first 
went  up  to  the  General  Court,  Andrew  Cazneau, 
a  fellow-barrister  and  member  of  the  same  club, 
had  married  a  daughter  of  John  Hammock,  a 
prosperous  Boston  merchant.1  The  gay  Daniel, 
we  assume,  was  present  at  the  wedding,  and  found 
one  of  the  bridesmaids  attractive;  having  an  eye 
to  fashion  and  understanding  the  uses  to  which 
inherited  wealth  could  be  put. 

John  Hammock  lived  at  the  aristocratic  North 
End,  and  was  the  father  of  several  daughters.2 

1  In  the  address  to  Governor  Hutchinson  upon  his  departure 
for  England,  the  signatures  of  Leonard  and  Cazneau  stand  side 
by  side,  suggesting  a  close  acquaintance.    They  were  both  pro 
scribed  by  the  Legislature  in  1778,  and  lived  together  many 
years  in  Bermuda.    The  Cazneau  sisters  were  belles,  known  in 
Providence  as  well  as  in  Boston;  and  interesting  letters  relating 
to  their  entanglements  are  preserved  in  Rhode  Island  historical 
collections.  The  family  was  Huguenot. 

2  One,  born  in  April,  was  named  Easter  Hammock.  Whether 
she  was  born  on  Easter  Day,  or  whether  this  name  was  another 
form  of  Esther,  the  reader  may  decide. 

[189] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Those  North  End  ladies  and  gentlemen  read  Ad- 
dison's  "  Spectator,"  "Tristram  Shandy,"  "Tom 
Jones,"  "Sir  Charles  Grandison,"  the  Eng 
lish  prayer  book,  and  repeated  bon-mots  of  Sam 
Johnson;  some  of  them  had  manors  of  a 
thousand  acres  in  the  country,  cultivated  by 
slaves  from  Africa  (the  Apthorps,  Amorys,  Bor- 
lands,  Hutchinsons,  Olivers,  Princes,  Wendells, 
Winslows).  It  was  their  ambition  to  ape  the  cus 
toms  and  ceremonies  of  England,  as  the  habitans 
in  Quebec  attempted  a  miniature  of  the  court  at 
Versailles.  Of  an  afternoon  the  Bostonians  pa 
raded  on  the  Mall  in  brocaded  vests,  broad  ruffled 
sleeves,  Delta-shaped  hats,  and  powdered  wigs, 
swinging  ivory-headed  canes  to  touch  up  vagrant 
dogs,  sheep,  or  pigs,  and  warn  idle  negro  urchins. 
An  English  traveller  said  of  them,  "The  ladies 
here  visit,  drink  tea,  and  indulge  every  little  bit 
of  gentility  to  the  height  of  the  fashion,  and  neg 
lect  the  affairs  of  their  families  with  as  good  a 
grace  as  the  finest  families  of  London." 

In  less  that  the  customary  two  years  from  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Daniel  goes  up  from  Taun 
ton  to  marry  a  daughter  of  Boston;  eleven  days 
later,  Paine,  having  coming  down  from  Boston, 
takes  to  wife  a  daughter  of  Taunton  —  a  fair 
exchange.  Sarah  Hammock  and  Daniel  Leonard 
were  married  March  4,  1770,  a  day  before  the 
Boston  Massacre,  when  the  town  was  in  fever- 

[  190] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

ish  excitement  from  the  conduct  of  the  King's 
troops,  who,  a  few  days  previously,  had  killed  a 
boy. 

John  Hammock  was  a  vestryman  in  Christ's 
Church.  There  let  Fancy  assemble  a  fine  wed 
ding  party  —  acting  Governor  Hutchinson  in  of 
ficial  splendor,  Lieut.-Governor  Oliver,  Josiah 
Quincy,  intimate  friends  of  the  groom;  a  Brit 
ish  officer  or  two,  in  flashing  red  coats  with  med 
als  and  orders;  and  the  North  End  gentry  as 
smartly  frocked  as  credit  would  allow.  Of  his 
college-mates,  Thomas  Brattle,  next  to  whom 
Daniel  had  sat  at  the  head  of  Commons;  John 
Lowell;  Daniel  Bliss  of  Concord;  William  Baylies, 
his  brother-in-law;  Samuel  Deane,  a  few  years 
older,  who  had  come  up  with  him  to  college  from 
Norton,  and  was  now  preaching  at  Portland; 
include  also  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  (class  of  1759) 
and  John  Trumbull  of  Yale,  who  studied  law  in 
Boston,  and  Judge  William  Browne  of  Salem. 
Of  his  fellow-members  in  the  Legislature  invite 
Major  Hawley  from  Northampton,  James  War 
ren  of  Plymouth,  James  Otis,  living  in  Boston, 
Timothy  Ruggles  of  Hardwick,  and  Colonel 
Jerathmeel  Bowers  of  Swanzea.1  Paine  must 
drive  up  from  Taunton;  and  welcome  Paul  Re- 

1  Colonel  Bowers  was  a  boon  companion  of  Leonard.  He 
made  a  fortune  in  the  West-India  and  slave  trade  and  his  son 
became  a  notorius  spendthrift.  For  lack  of  other  sensational 

[191] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


vere,  the  silversmith,  Cazneau,  John  Adams  and 
other  lawyers,  and  various  members  of  the  two 
families  in  their  Sunday  best. 

But  hush!  The  rector,  Mather  Byles,  Jr., 
enters  the  sanctuary,  shaking  the  snow  from  his 
curls;  the  bride  of  twenty-four,  in  hoop  skirt, 
lace  and  brocade,  with  pearls  on  her  neck  and 
in  her  ears  and  hair  dressed  high;  the  groom  of 
thirty,  in  silver-trimmed  blue  velvet  coat,  tie-wig, 
finely  plaited  linen  neckerchief  and  "pudding." 
Now  the  Communion;  the  kneeling  at  the  altar; 
the  passing  of  the  ring;  the  hymn  and  benedic 
tion  and  wedding  march,  with  nuptial  strains  from 
the  newly  installed  organ.  And  now  the  rice  and 
slippers! 

Let  the  guests  from  Norton  climb  the  steep 
wooden  stairs  of  the  delicate  tower  (designed  from 
drawings  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren)  to  inspect  the 
chime  of  bells  and  startle  the  pigeons,  just  as  the 
sexton  with  his  two  lanterns  startled  them  on  an 
April  evening,  five  years  later.  On  the  first  of  the 
eight  bells  they  might  read,  "  The  subscription  for 
these  bells  was  begun  by  John  Hammock  and 
Robert  Temple,  Church  Wardens,  Anno  1743." 
On  the  seventh  bell,  "  Since  generosity  has  opened 

extravagance,  one  day,  young  Bowers  announced  he  would 
eat  the  most  expensive  breakfast  in  Somerset.  When  the 
neighbors  dropped  in  to  watch  the  banquet,  the  Colonial  Mi 
das  put  a  hundred-dollar  bill  between  two  slices  of  bread  and 
devoured  it. 

[192] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

our  mouths,  our  tongue  shall  ring  aloud  its 
praise."  They  must  also  examine  the  "Vine 
gar  Bible"  and  the  silver  service  given  by 
George  II. 

While  his  first  wife's  father  was  scrutinizing 
Leonard's  affairs,  Daniel  felt  restrained,  for  Colo 
nel  White  was  an  accumulator,  not  a  dissipator 
of  fortunes.  After  his  second  marriage,  Leonard 
began  to  favor  a  more  extravagant  style.  His 
tastes  prompted  him  to  live  in  a  manner  becoming 
his  title  of  King's  Attorney.  He  took  his  Boston 
bride  down  to  Taunton,  where  he  enthroned  her 
in  a  newly-purchased  mansion.  He  was  the  John 
Hancock  of  Taunton;  his  house  overlooked  Taun 
ton  Green  as  that  of  Hancock  looked  down  on 
Boston  Common.  The  natives  rubbed  their  eyes 
at  the  new  pomp,  began  to  put  aside  familiarity 
and  hailed  their  fellow-townsman  as  "Mister." 
Madam  Leonard  frequently  accompanied  her 
husband  when  his  legislative  duties  called  him 
to  Boston.  She  could  not  find  many  of  her  own 
social  set,  and  may  have  sniffed  a  trifle  at  the 
rural  gentry.  Paine  and  Mrs.  Leonard  became 
congenial  friends,  though  Paine,  born  on  Beacon 
Hill,  was  then  not  so  aristocratic  as  a  North- 
Ender. 

The  substantial  mansion  of  Leonard  was  on  that 
side  of  Taunton  Green  where  now  stands  the  court 
house.  In  the  rear  was  his  stable  with  the  coach 

[  193] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


in  which  he  rode  to  Boston;  paths  of  box  led  to 
the  wide  door;  china  and  plate  were  on  the  ma 
hogany  table.  Here  were  entertained,  with  the 
most  lavish  display  the  town  could  afford,  the 
Governor  and  Supreme  Court  Judges  —  Gerry, 
Godfrey,  Otis,  Mayhew,  Bowers,  Cobb,  and  high 
officials  from  Boston. 

And  judges  grave  and  colonels  grand, 

Fair  dames  and  stately  men, 
The  mighty  people  of  the  land, 

The  "  world  "  of  there  and  then. 

Cards,  wine,  dancing,  and  midnight  merriment 
made  the  judicious  grieve;  the  sober-thinking  saw 
that  Leonard  was  cultivating  the  haughty  spirit 
which  precedes  a  fall. 

Four  years  Mrs.  Leonard  lived  in  Taunton, 
where  three  children  were  born.  The  unhappy 
circumstances  under  which  her  husband  was 
driven  to  Boston,  when  popular  sentiment  ostra 
cized  the  family,  aroused  sympathy  for  the  wife 
whose  child,  born  in  this  harrowing  period,  devel 
oped  symptoms  of  idiocy.  As  soon  as  advisable, 
the  family  coach,  driven  by  Spencer  Lyne,  the 
colored  coachman,  took  Mrs.  Leonard  and  the 
children  back  to  Boston,  to  a  house  in  Queen 
Street;  and  not  long  after,  Colonel  Leonard's 
private  papers  were  borne  away,  to  be  scattered 
none  know  where. 

[  194] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

After  a  year  and  a  half  in  Boston,  Mrs.  Leon 
ard  sailed  to  Halifax,  to  live  among  two  thousand 
exiles  in  Nova  Scotia.  Halifax  was  then  but  a 
fisherman's  hamlet.  There  was  great  difficulty  in 
accommodating  the  1927  persons,  who,  in  crowded 
ships,  sailed  thither  in  March,  1776.  Icebergs 
coming  down  from  Labrador  caused  heavy  fogs, 
"the  pity  of  the  sea."  Most  of  the  houses  were 
rickety,  admitting  bleak  winds  through  mani 
fold  chinks,  and  scarcely  a  room  had  been  plas 
tered.1  Whole  families  were  crowded  together 
closer  than  aboard  ship.  Daniel  soon  went  to 
England,  but  his  wife  remained,  with  her  half- 
dozen  children  and  servant,  for  another  two 
years,  dreading  the  ocean  voyage,  and  expecting 
every  day  the  war  might  cease.  Tears  of  home 
sickness  welled  up  in  her  eyes  as  she  sat  in  exile, 
with  her  little  ones,  and  in  the  summer  of  1778, 
she  gathered  her  brood  about  her  and  crossed  the 
ocean  to  join  her  husband.  She  lived  three  years 
in  crowded  London,  near  Buckingham  Gate, 
educating  her  children  in  the  schools.  Then  she 
packed  her  Lares  and  Penates  for  Bermuda,  where 
she  lived  the  narrow  life  of  the  island  for  twenty- 
five  years,  a  near  neighbor  to  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Cazneau.  There  the  silver  wedding  was  ob 
served. 

1  Some  one  speaks  of  the  climate  as  nine  months  winter  and 
three  months  cold  weather. 

[  195] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  Leonards'  faithful  servant,  Ann  Barney, 
loyally  followed  the  family  in  all  its  peregrina 
tions.  Hers  was  a  life  of  peculiar  gentleness;  she 
had  taken  care  of  Daniel's  first  wife,  and  after 
her  death  had  mirsed  the  motherless  child  as  her 
own.  When  Daniel  married  again,  his  new  wife 
welcomed  Ann  into  the  household  with  her  foster- 
child,  whom  the  nurse  loved  with  all  her  unsatis 
fied  maternity.  Thus  Ann  came  to  be  as  one  of 
the  Leonard  family,  and  companioned  her  new 
mistress  through  all  the  changes  of  fortunes.  She 
cared  for  other  little  ones  as  well  as  for  Anna, 
and  was  always  a  very  present  help  in  time  of 
trouble,  especially  during  those  trying  days  at 
Halifax  when  Mrs.  Leonard,  in  her  husband's 
absence,  was  bravely  endeavoring  to  keep  her 
children  in  health.  Ann  went  to  London  and 
finally  to  Bermuda,  where  it  was  her  happiness 
to  see  her  "child"  married  to  an  English  officer. 
Besides  Ann  Barney,  Seth  Williams,  a  Harvard 
graduate  and  kinsman  to  Leonard's  first  wife, 
followed  the  family  into  exile.  The  household, 
in  1775,  consisted  of  ten  persons,  counting  in 
the  nursery  maid.  There  must  have  been  an 
annual  increase  of  olive-branches  round  Madam 
Leonard's  table,  but  two  died  in  infancy  and  were 
buried  either  on  the  bleak  hillside  at  Halifax, 
in  the  throbbing  heart  of  London,  or  in  the 
" quiet"  behind  St.  Peter's  at  Bermuda. 
[  196] 


Leonard's  Second  Marriage 

The  death  of  Madam  Leonard  in  1806,  away 
from  her  husband  and  children,  on  the  waste  of 
waters,  is  a  pathetic  contrast  to  the  brilliant 
promise  of  her  wedding  day.  She  had  lived  with 
Daniel  thirty-six  years,  for  better,  for  worse.  The 
climate  of  Bermuda,  fatal  to  consumptives  and 
beneficial  to  nervous  diseases,  was  not  good  for 
her;  she  left  the  island  to  return  to  her  American 
home  by  way  of  Providence,  but  never  reached 
New  England.  Superstitious  sailors  put  shot  in 
her  canvas  coffin,  and  as  the  captain  finished  the 
marine  burial  service,  gently  lowered  her  body 
into  the  vast  unmarked  ocean  cemetery. 


NEXT  THE  JUSTICE 


CHAPTER  XII 
Kings  Attorney 

The  far-off  splendors  of  the  throne 
And  glimmerings  of  the  crown. 

Anonymous. 

THE  decade  1765-1775  was  a  succession  of 
surprises  to  Leonard;  its  critical  changes 
and  significant  developments  brought  out 
his  true  colors.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
elected  to  the  General  Court;  was  married  twice 
and  became  father  of  several  children;  he  was 
appointed  King's  Attorney  and  Mandamus  Coun 
cillor.  Honors  were  crowning  him  faster  than  he 
could  carry  them  gracefully.  Presently  he  was 
driven,  at  the  menace  of  musket  balls,  from  the 
land  of  his  fathers  by  angry  fellow-townsmen. 

To  grasp  the  spirit  of  the  times  during  this  first 
decade  of  his  practice  as  an  attorney,  it  may  be 
well  to  refresh  the  mind  upon  the  events  then 
marching  double-quick  toward  the  goal  of  Inde 
pendence.  Almost  weekly,  Leonard  and  Paine 
found  some  new  disturbance  to  discuss  with  their 
neighbors  at  the  store  or  the  town  house.  British 
law  made  it  impossible  for  the  Leonards  to  make 
iron  for  export.  It  was  a  crime  to  manufacture 
hats  or  shoes  and  market  them  beyond  the  neigh- 

[201   ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


borhood,  so  rigidly  did  the  Crown's  vigilance  re 
strain  the  commerce  of  the  Colonies.  Criminals 
from  British  jails  were  sent  to  America  and  sold 
as  indentured  servants  for  stated  periods.  The 
import  duties,  the  summons  to  England  for  trial 
of  all  officers  under  indictment,  and  the  quarter 
ing  of  troops  in  time  of  peace,  strengthened  the 
arguments  against  the  ministry  and  the  revolt 
against  constituted  authority.  The  struggle  with 
France  for  the  American  continent  had  ceased 
in  1763  and  the  danger  of  French  control  was 
ended.  Thereafter  the  colonists  gave  attention 
to  their  business,  farming,  and  political  troubles. 
By  the  Stamp  Act  of  1765,  a  special  stamp  was  re 
quired  on  every  document,  from  a  deed  to  a  mar 
riage  certificate.  The  resentment  of  the  people 
was  so  universal  that  this  law  was  repealed  the 
next  year,  only  to  be  replaced  in  1767  by  an 
other  odious  taxation  scheme  devised  by  Charles 
Townshend.  Taunton  families  gained  wealth  by 
evasion  of  these  laws.  To  smuggle  became  a  pa 
triot's  duty.  Sloops  anchored  at  out-of-the-way 
points  along  the  coast,  from  which  carts,  under 
cover  of  night,  brought  away  tea,  wine,  sugar, 
molasses,  and  fruit  to  secret  cellars.  In  1768, 
Parliament  bade  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
rescind  their  circular  letter  addressed  to  other 
provincial  assemblies  seeking  assistance.  Seven 
teen  members  obeyed  and  were  tormented  within 
[  202  ] 


King's  Attorney 


an  inch  of  their  lives  by  sore  constituents.  Han 
cock's  sloop,  Liberty,  was  seized  by  Crown  officials 
for  smuggling.  That  fall  two  regiments  of  British 
soldiers  arrived.  In  1769,  Governor  Bernard  was 
recalled  on  petition  of  the  Assembly.  Then  duties 
were  removed  on  all  articles  except  tea,  the  obnox 
ious  tax  upon  which  caused  a  general  boycott  of 
that  staple  commodity,  the  ladies  stipulating  to 
forego  their  favorite  brew.  In  1770  came  the  Bos 
ton  Massacre  and  its  criminal  trials.  The  first 
Committee  of  Correspondence  was  then  suggested 
by  James  Warren,  and  within  a  year  or  two  they 
were  established  in  every  town.  Castle  William 
and  Boston  Harbor  were  taken  from  provincial 
control.  In  1771,  Hutchinson  was  made  governor 
of  Massachusetts  and  Benjamin  Franklin  was 
appointed  agent  to  present  the  grievances  of  this 
province  at  the  court  of  St.  James.  In  1772, 
the  Assembly  protested  against  the  payment  of 
provincial  officers  by  the  Crown,  and  a  British 
ship,  the  Gaspee,  was  burned  in  Providence 
River.  In  1773,  Virginia  and  Massachusetts 
joined  hands  through  their  committees ;  the  letters 
of  Hutchinson  and  Oliver,  acquired  by  Franklin, 
were  sent  to  Boston.  In  December  of  this  year 
came  the  famous  tea-party  on  the  Dartmouth. 
In  1774,  Chief  Justice  Oliver  was  impeached, 
Paine  and  Leonard  taking  opposite  sides.  The 
citizens  refused  to  pay  for  the  tea  destroyed  and 

[203] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  port  of  Boston  was  closed.  Hutchinson  sailed 
for  England  and  a  solemn  covenant  not  to  use 
imported  goods  was  signed.  Then  came  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  and  the  discomfiture  of  the 
leading  Tories;  next  year,  Lexington  and  Bunker 
Hill ;  and  the  cry  for  independence  was  in  the  air. 
Such  issues  had  divided  the  Province  into 
political  parties.  The  supporters  of  the  admin 
istration  were  called  Loyalists  and  Tories;  their 
opponents  who  claimed  that  its  policy  was  narrow 
and  unjust,  were  Whigs  or  Patriots.1  The  Tories 
of  the  Revolution  were  the  logical  heirs  of  Andros, 
Randolph,  Dudley,  and  the  champions  of  Stuart 
absolutism.  Out  of  the  administration  of  Gov 
ernor  Shirley  arose  a  new  Court  Party,  success 
ors  to  the  ancient  Cavaliers;  this  party  included 
the  Hutchinsons,  Olivers,  Leonards,  Ruggleses, 
Sewalls,  Winslows,  and  their  kind.  They  stood 
for  an  aristocratic  order  of  society  and  upheld 
the  union  of  church  and  state.  The  Tories  called 
themselves  the  Law  and  Order  party,  maintain 
ing  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown,  and  defend 
ing  the  supremacy  of  British  law  throughout 
the  empire.  The  Whigs  claimed  that  they,  too, 
were  loyal,  because  they  recognized  the  execu 
tive  functions  of  the  Crown  and  the  sovereignty 
of  Great  Britain.  As  it  was  not  the  original 
thought  of  the  Tories  to  appeal  to  the  iron  hand 

1  Insurgents  and  reactionaries  they  would  be  called  to-day. 
[   204  ] 


King's  Attorney 


of  monarchy,  so  it  was  not  the  early  aim  of  the 
Whigs  to  separate  from  England.  Time  and  cir 
cumstances  drove  both  parties  to  measures  they 
had  not  originally  proposed.  To  support  Parlia 
ment,  the  Tory  became  a  defender  of  arbitrary 
measures,  and  the  Whig,  to  preserve  fundamen 
tal  rights,  became  the  advocate  of  an  American 
Democracy.  Much  barrel-head  oratory  was  heard 
about  ballot-boxes  in  place  of  a  king,  for  the  se 
lection  of  officials. 

Leonard,  having  served  in  the  office  of  Colonel 
White  and  married  his  daughter,  was  the  logical 
candidate  for  the  position  of  King's  Attorney, 
which  he  secured  in  1769.  The  young  barrister 
of  twenty-nine  entered  upon  the  position,  just 
vacated  by  his  father-in-law,  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  a  rising  lawyer.  Paine  was  better  qualified  for 
the  place ;  not  only  was  he  older,  but,  being  obliged 
to  earn  his  livelihood  by  the  law,  he  was  a  closer 
student.  If  Paine  had  had  the  "pull,"  the  office 
would  have  gone  to  him  and  the  whole  current  of 
his  life  might  have  been  changed. 

In  assuming  this  title  of  "King's  Attorney," 
Leonard  began  forging  the  chains  which  fastened 
him  to  the  English  throne.  While  making  pleas  in 
the  name  of  the  King,  and  referring  so  often  to 
"His  Majesty,"  he  was  mechanically  becoming 
a  Loyalist,  as  much  as  if  taking  command  in  a 
regiment  of  British  troops.  He  had  sworn  to  per- 

[205] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


form  his  duty  in  opposing  lawless  acts  and  pre 
serving  order,  and  measured  swords  with  the  lead 
ing  counsel  of  the  Old  Colony  in  pleas  of  the  Crown. 
He  came  to  know  the  might  of  the  British  Em 
pire,  then  mistress  of  the  world,  and  he  was  proud 
to  honor  his  King,  although  he  could  feel  that 
the  name  "King"  was  becoming  hateful  to  the 
populace.  He  saw  nothing  to  gain  and  all  to  lose 
in  joining  the  Whigs,  whom  the  lordly  Tories  con 
temptuously  spoke  of  as  "a  mob  of  blustering, 
bellowing  patriots."  Though  the  spirit  of  patriot 
ism  was  often  cased  in  a  husk  of  turbulence  and 
lawlessness,  the  finer  sentiment  of  freedom  and 
liberalism  was  instinctive  with  the  educated  ortho 
dox  clergy  and  many  cultured  minds.  Leonard 
had  been  rated  a  Whig  until  1772,  when  he  showed 
symptoms  of  the  turncoat.  Though  suspected  as 
a  renegade,  he  gave  no  specific  cause  for  open 
censure  until  1774,  upon  his  vote  against  the  im 
peachment  of  Judge  Oliver.  Then  malevolence 
dogged  him,  and  only  previous  popularity  saved 
him  from  assault. 

Much  could  be  said  in  extenuation  of  Leonard's 
course.  He  was  one  of  the  young  bloods,1  popular 
in  the  clubs  of  lawyers  at  Providence  and  Boston, 
and  a  frequent  guest  of  the  Pilgrim  Society  in 
Plymouth.  It  required  great  force  of  will  to  break 
with  his  many  associates.  To  renounce  allegiance 
to  the  Crown  would  not  only  cut  off  his  in- 

[206] 


SONS   OF   LIBERTY   PERSECUTING   A   TORY 


King's  Attorney 


come,  but  bring  upon  him  the  contempt  of  the 
Boston  aristocracy,  whose  friendship  he  valued 
socially.  His  vacillating  mind  was  weighing  in 
the  balance  the  question  whether  the  present 
movement  would  be  put  down  as  a  rebellion  or 
justify  itself  as  a  revolution.  England  received  a 
million  pounds  of  annual  revenue  from  the  colo 
nies,  and  could  hardly  afford  a  war,  Leonard  rea 
soned  ;  but  he  saw  that  the  most  high-toned  were 
on  the  side  of  the  administration;  while  a  vulgar 
rabble  constituted  the  vast  majority  of  the  Pa 
triot  forces.  The  satisfied  class,  who  had  wealth 
and  social  position,  the  Episcopal  clergy,  the  con 
servatives,  the  Crown  officials  put  absolute  trust 
in  the  power  and  justice  of  their  sovereign. 

The  patriots  were,  of  course,  eager  to  humili 
ate  those  who  leaned  toward  the  King,  and  feel 
ing  their  power  grow,  as  the  chasm  widened,  gave 
the  Loyalists  choice  of  persecution  or  banishment. 
A  Tory,  they  declared,  was  a  man  whose  head 
was  in  London  while  his  body  was  in  America, 
and  whose  neck,  therefore,  ought  to  be  stretched. 
Tory  estates  were  despoiled  and  the  names  of  their 
owners  published  as  betrayers  of  their  country; 
men  would  not  associate  with  them  in  buying, 
selling,  or  worshipping;  they  could  scarcely  pur 
chase  the  necessities  of  life;  millers  would  not 
grind  their  corn,  laborers  would  not  hire  out  with 
them;  Tory  pulpits  were  nailed  up. 

[207] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Taunton  became  a  centre  of  fiercest  hate  of  the 
Tories.  The  Patriots  were  too  much  in  earnest 
to  tolerate  pronounced  Loyalists  as  neighbors. 
Lines  were  drawn  in  families,  severing  brother 
from  brother.  The  Committees  of  Safety  looked 
with  longing  eyes  on  estates  to  be  confiscated. 
The  minister,  judge,  colonel  of  the  regiment, 
scholar,  and  capitalist  were  threatened  with 
indignities  —  "Insults  more  to  be  deprecated 
than  death  itself,"  wrote  Leonard.  The  bitterness 
of  the  Patriots  was  shown  by  their  fertility  of 
invention.  To  one  Tory  they  would  send,  as  a 
gentle  hint,  a  box  containing  a  halter;  another  was 
lowered  in  a  well  and  there  imprisoned  overnight; 
again,  they  would  cut  the  hair  and  tail  off  a  Tory 
horse  and  paint  its  body  fantastically;  sometimes 
they  drummed  a  man  out  of  town,  or,  setting  him 
on  a  rail,  gave  him  a  spectacular  ride  about  the 
streets ;  others  were  burned  in  effigy  or  fastened  to 
whipping-posts.  Their  wigs  were  pulled  off;  cow 
bells  were  hung  around  their  necks;  family  por 
traits  were  set  up  as  targets  for  sundry  missiles.1 
A  King's  Attorney  was  a  shining  mark  for  Whig 
attacks. 

Leonard's  apostasy  was  accelerated  in  the  spring 
of  1774.  One  morning  his  neighbors  were  sur- 

1  Tradition  says  that  Mr.  Edson  of  Bridgewater  was  placed 
inside  the  carcass  of  one  of  his  slaughtered  oxen,  his  head 
swathed  with  entrails,  and  thus  drawn  on  a  cart  through  his 
native  town. 

[208] 


King's  Attorney 


prised  to  see  Governor  Hutchinson  drive  up  to 
his  door.  A  long  conversation  took  place  under  a 
tree  which,  fifty  years  later,  was  still  pointed  out 
as  the  "Tory  pear  tree."  The  Governor  had  come 
there  to  bring  his  skill  to  bear  on  the  young  attor 
ney,  and  bind  him  to  the  Tory  cause.  When  Hutch 
inson  returned  home,  Leonard  was  safely  inocu 
lated  with  the  loyal  virus.  Mercy  Warren,  in  her 
satire,  thus  pictures  the  scene: 

I  trimmed  and  primped  and  veered  and  wav'ring  stood, 

But  half-resolved  to  show  myself  a  knave, 

Till  the  arch-traitor,  prowling  round  for  aid, 

Saw  my  suspense  and  bade  me  doubt  no  more. 

He  gently  turned,  and  smiling  took  my  hand, 

And  whispering  softly  in  my  listening  ear, 

Showed  me  my  name  among  his  chosen  band, 

And  laughed  at  virtue  dignified  by  fools; 

Cleared  all  my  doubts  and  bid  me  persevere 

In  spite  of  the  restraints  or  hourly  checks 

Of  wounded  friendship,  and  a  goaded  mind, 

Or  all  the  sacred  ties  of  truth  and  honor. 

Hutchinson,  constantly  threatened,  asked  the 
King's  permission  to  visit  England;  and  sailed  June 
I,  1774,  to  hold  his  notable  interview  with  George 
III.1  Upon  his  departure  from  Boston,  the  Tory 

1  Hutchinson  was  soured  because  the  mob  sacked  his  house 
and  burned  his  library,  which  Governor  Hopkins  of  Rhode 
Island  commanded,  hoping  it  might  keep  him  from  writing 
any  more  history. 

[  209  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


barristers  sent  him  an  elaborate  address  of  good 
will  and  esteem.1 

1  The  address  is  as  follows: 

A  firm  persuasion  of  your  inviolable  attachment  to  the  real  interest 
of  this  your  native  country,  and  your  constant  readiness,  by  every 
service  in  your  power,  to  promote  its  true  welfare  and  prosperity,  will, 
we  flatter  ourselves,  render  it  not  improper  in  us,  barristers,  and  attor- 
neys-at-law,  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  address  your 
Excellency,  upon  your  removal  from  us,  with  this  testimonial  of  our 
sincere  respect  and  esteem. 

The  various  important  characters  of  Legislator,  Judge,  and  first 
Magistrate  over  this  Province,  in  which,  by  the  suffrages  of  your  fellow- 
subjects  and  the  royal  favor  of  the  best  of  Kings,  your  great  abilities, 
adorned  with  uniform  purity  of  principle,  and  integrity  of  conduct,  have 
been  eminently  distinguished,  must  excite  the  esteem  and  demand  the 
grateful  acknowledgement  of  every  true  lover  of  his  country  and 
friend  to  virtue. 

The  present  perplexed  state  of  our  public  affairs,  we  are  sensible, 
must  render  your  departure  far  less  disagreeable  to  you  than  it  is  to 
us.  We  assure  you,  sir,  we  feel  the  loss;  but  when  in  the  amiable  char 
acter  of  your  successor,  we  view  a  fresh  instance  of  the  paternal  goodness 
of  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  on  the  probability  that  your  presence 
at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain  will  afford  you  an  opportunity  of  employing 
your  interest  more  successfully  for  the  relief  of  the  Province,  and  par 
ticularly  for  the  town  of  Boston,  under  their  present  distress,  we  find  a 
consolation  which  no  other  human  sources  could  afford. 

Permit  us,  Sir,  most  earnestly  to  solicit  the  exertion  of  all  your  dis 
tinguished  abilities  in  favor  of  your  native  town  and  country  upon  this 
truly  unhappy  and  distressing  occasion. 

We  sincerely  wish  you  a  prosperous  voyage,  a  long  continuation  of 
health  and  felicity  and  the  highest  rewards  of  the  good  and  faithful. 
We  are,  Sir,  with  the  most  cordial  affection,  esteem,  and  respect 
Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servants: 

ROBERT  AUCHMUTY  SAMPSON  S.  BLOWERS 
JONATHAN  SEWALL  SHEARJASHUB  BROWN 
SAMUEL  FITCH  DANIEL  BLISS 

SAMUEL  QUINCY  SAMUEL  PORTER 

WILLIAM  PYNCHON  DAVID  INGERSOLL 

JAMES  PUTNAM  JEREMIAH  D.  ROGERS 

BENJAMIN  GRIDLEY  DAVID  GORHAM 

ABEL  WILLARD  SAMUEL  SEWALL 

ANDREW  CAZNEAU  JOHN  SPRAGUE 

DANIEL  LEONARD  RUFUS  CHANDLER 

JOHN  LOWELL  THOMAS  DANFORTH 

DANIEL  OLIVER  EBENEZER  BRADISH 


King's  Attorney 


The  signing  of  this  address,  and  two  months 
later  the  acceptance  of  the  office  of  Mandamus 
Councillor,  were  the  clinching  proofs  of  Leonard's 
Toryism.  He  conducted  his  last  case  at  the  Taun- 
ton  Court-House,  June  14,  1774,  and  not  long  after 
paid  the  penalty  of  adherence  to  the  Crown  by 
exile.  With  Leonard's  incumbency  ended  for  all 
time  the  office  of  King's  Attorney  in  Bristol 
County. 


CHAPTER   XIII 
A  Cause  Celebre 

The  stones  of  King  Street  still  are  red, 
And  yet  the  bloody  red-coats  come, 

I  hear  their  passing  sentry's  tread, 
The  click  of  steel,  the  tap  of  drum. 

HOLMES. 

FOR  thirteen  years,  Paine  had  been  practis 
ing  in  a  variety  of  petty  cases,  when  Fame 
suddenly  gathered  him  into  her  family, 
and  carried  his  name  into  the  American  Colonial 
capitals  from  Boston  to  Williamsburg.  By  chance, 
he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  trials  following 
the  street  affray  known  as  the  Boston  Massacre. 
This  event,  pivotal  in  Paine's  career,  and  as  sig 
nificant  to  Boston  as  the  battles  of  Lexington 
or  Saratoga,  was  annually  commemorated  by  a 
Fifth  of  March  Oration,  in  which  matters  of 
greatest  political  importance  were  brought  to 
public  consideration.  This  holiday  competed  with 
the  Fourth  of  July  for  several  years  after  the 
Revolution.  The  annual  orator  received  four 
yards  of  cloth  for  a  new  suit  of  clothes;  the  in 
jured  survivors  of  the  fray  stood  by  the  door 
with  beseeching  open  palms.  A  hundred  and 
twenty  years  after  the  "Massacre"  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts  commemorated  it  by 
an  eagle-crowned  column  on  Boston  Common, 

[   212] 


A  Cause  Celebre 


not  quite  certain  whether  it  was  the  memorial 
of  a  lawless  street  riot,  or  of  the  first  martyrs 
in  the  War  for  Independence.  The  real  issue  in 
volved  was,  not  so  much  that  citizens  had  been 
killed,  but  whether,  in  time  of  peace,  Parliament 
could  quarter  a  standing  army  upon  a  town  with 
out  its  consent. 

When  the  British  fleet,  in  October,  1768,  sailed 
into  Boston  Harbor,  bringing  two  regiments  of 
scarlet-coated  soldiers  to  be  quartered  upon  the 
town,  it  required  but  a  slight  knowledge  of  Yankee 
nature  to  foresee  that  one  of  the  inevitable  crises 
in  history  was  about  to  occur.  Here  was  a  pro 
vincial  capital  of  eighteen  thousand  inhabitants 
who  tried  to  keep  the  Ten  Commandments, 
seldom  attended  theatres,  frowned  on  frivolities, 
went  to  "meeting"  three  times  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  and  sat  content  so  long  as  there  was  no 
invasion  of  what  they  considered  their  natural 
right  of  local  self-government.  Into  this  com 
munity  came  the  British  regiments,  not  only  for 
an  odious  political  purpose,  but  bringing  the 
morals  and  manners  of  a  European  army  to 
shock  the  Puritan  provincials  by  their  brawls,  pro 
fanity,  coarse  pastimes,  and  parades  on  Sunday. 
They  came  ostensibly  to  prevent  smuggling  and 
protect  citizens;  but  really  their  presence  was  a 
threat.  The  Writs  of  Assistance,  the  Stamp  Act, 
the  Townshend  regulations  —  these  had  aroused 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  indignation  of  the  people,  and  George  III, 
through  his  ministers,  North  and  Hillsborough, 
had  begun  his  short-sighted  policy  of  humiliating 
Massachusetts.  For  a  year  and  a  half  mutter- 
ings  steadily  increased.  A  boy  had  been  killed; 
citizens  were  carrying  cudgels  as  they  walked  the 
streets.  The  atmosphere  was  overcharged  and 
a  storm  was  imminent. 

March  5,  1770,  dawned,  — one  of  those  crystal 
mornings  when  a  kindly  Providence  has  spread 
a  fleecy,  diamond-studded  mantle  over  the  earth 
to  conceal  its  ugliness.  The  shedding  of  blood 
seems  foreign  to  so  chaste  a  setting.  Yet  on  this 
day  shots  were  fired  whose  echoes  did  not  cease 
till  Yorktown.  The  fight  occurred  in  front  of 
the  Old  State  House.  Every  school-boy  knows 
how  the  troops  came  marching  out  for  evening 
exercise  under  Captain  Preston;  how  pedestrians 
and  street  urchins  taunted  them,  shouting  "Lob 
sters,"  "Bloody-backs,"  and  flinging  snow-balls, 
turnips,  ice,  and  staves;  how  the  soldiers  endured 
this  baiting  until  the  infuriated  Preston  gave  the 
word  to  fire;  how  the  mulatto  street-leader, 
Crispus  Attucks,  and  several  others  fell,  the  first 
victims  of  the  Revolution.1  The  bodies  of  the 

1  Three,  Attucks,  Maverick,  and  Caldwell,  were  killed  out 
right.  Two  of  the  victims  clung  to  life  for  several  days  and 
one  dragged  out  a  miserable  existence  for  years.  Over  this 
same  spot,  in  1854,  a  marshal's  posse  conveyed  another  col 
ored  victim,  Anthony  Burns,  escorted  home  to  slavery  be- 

[214] 


A  Cause  Celebre 


dead  were  escorted  to  the  Granary  Burying- 
Ground  by  the  largest  concourse  ever  gathered, 
till  then,  at  a  Boston  funeral,  men  riding  in  from 
all  the  countryside;  and  the  day  passed  with  a 
calm  control  of  civic  passion,  the  soldiers  being 
held  within  their  quarters.  No  revenge  was  at 
tempted;  all  the  talk  was  of  legal  redress.  The 
law  took  its  course,  as  Governor  Hutchinson, 
from  the  State  House  balcony  on  the  night  of  the 
tragedy  had  proclaimed  that  it  should.  Attor 
ney-General  Sewall  was  ill,  and  in  any  event 
probably  preferred  not  to  conduct  the  prosecu 
tion,  and  mentioned  Paine,  his  friend  of  many 
years,  as  prosecutor  —  a  suggestion  approved  by 
the  Boston  selectmen  and  Sam  Adams.  Samuel 
Quincy  was  retained  as  Paine's  associate.  For  the 
defence  John  Adams  came  forward,  thus  giving  a 
signal  instance  of  his  love  of  justice,  and  guaran 
teeing  a  fair  trial  to  the  British  offenders;  with 
him  Josiah  Quincy  acted  as  consulting  counsel. 
These  four  attorneys  had  lived  almost  as  neigh 
bors;  and  the  twelve  "good  men  and  true  "  of  the 
jury  came  also  from  the  southern  outskirts  of 
Boston.  Paine  and  Quincy  drew  the  indictments 
with  legal  nicety. 

William  Warren,   not  having  the  fear  of  God 

cause  law  and  morality  were  at  variance,  —  his  suspenders  cut 
to  prevent  a  sudden  dash  for  liberty. 

[215] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


before  his  eyes,  but  being  moved  and  seduced  by 
the  instigation  of  the  Devil  and  of  his  own  wicked 
heart,  did  assault  one  Crispus  Attucks,  then  and 
there  being  in  the  peace  of  God,  and  that  he,  the 
said  William  Warren,  with  a  certain  hand  gun  of  the 
value  of  twenty  shillings  which  he,  the  said  William 
Warren,  held  in  both  his  hands  charged  with  gun 
powder  and  two  leaden  bullets,  then  and  there, 
feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of  his  malice  aforethought, 
did  strike,  penetrate,  and  wound  the  said  Crispus 
Attucks  in  and  upon  the  right  breast  a  little  below 
the  right  pap  of  him,  the  said  Crispus,  on,e  mortal 
wound  of  the  depth  of  six  inches  and  of  the  width  of 
one  inch;  and  also  thereby  giving  to  him,  the  said 
Crispus,  with  the  other  bullet  aforesaid  so  shot  off 
and  discharged  by  the  said  William  Warren  as 
aforesaid,  in  and  upon  the  left  breast,  a  little  below 
the  left  pap  of  him,  the  said  Crispus,  one  mortal 
wound  of  the  depth  of  six  inches  and  of  the  width 
of  one  inch,  of  which  said  mortal  wounds,  the  said 
Crispus  Attucks  then  and  there,  instantly  died. 

The  prosecution  sought  to  prove: 

I.  Whether  the  five  persons  said  to  be  murdered 
were  in  fact  actually  killed. 

II.  Whether  they  or  any  of  them  were  killed 
by  the  prisoners,  or  any  of  them. 

III.  Whether  such  killing  was  justifiable,  ex 
cusable,  or  felonious. 

IV.  And   if  the  latter,  whether  it  was  man 
slaughter  or  murder. 

[216] 


A  Cause  Celebre 


Captain  Preston,  at  a  special  trial,  was  acquitted. 
The  other  prisoners  pleaded  not  guilty.  Samuel 
Quincy  opened  the  case  in  prosecution;  Josiah 
Quincy  in  the  defence.  For  five  days,  the  court 
house  was  packed  to  hear  the  evidence.  The  eyes 
of  Massachusetts  were  turned  on  Paine,  and  all 
the  colonies  were  looking  on,  as  he  rose  to  sum 
up  the  case  from  the  people's  side.  The  Court 
had  sat  for  eight  days;  everybody  was  wearied; 
Paine  himself  greatly  fatigued  in  sifting  evidence 
and  preparing  his  brief;  and  the  Scotch  steno 
grapher  gave  out  before  Paine  finished.  His 
argument  was:  that  the  conduct  of  the  inhab 
itants  was  no  justification  for  the  fire  of  the 
soldiery,  who  \vere  in  no  real  danger  of  being 
beaten  or  wounded,  because  the  citizens  were 
acting  on  the  defensive;  that  the  order  to  fire 
was  unjustifiable,  and  so  the  prisoners  were  plainly 
guilty  of  murder.  He  reasoned  from  the  common 
law  and  a  sense  of  justice;  a  part  only  of  his  argu 
ment  is  preserved.  Gentlemen  of  the  Green  Bag 
may  like  to  read  a  paragraph  and  catch  Paine's 
style  of  addressing  a  jury. 

It  now  remains  to  close  this  cause  on  the  part  of 
the  Crown,  a  cause  which,  from  the  importance  of 
it,  has  been  examined  with  such  minuteness  and 
protracted  to  such  length,  that  I  fear  it  has  fatigued 
your  attention,  as  I  am  certain  it  has  exhausted  my 
spirits.  It  may,  however,  serve  to  show  you,  gentle- 

[217] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


men,  and  all  the  world,  that  the  benignity  of  the 
English  law,  so  much  relied  on  by  the  counsel  for 
the  prisoners,  is  well  known  and  attended  to  among 
us,  and  sufficiently  applied  to  the  case  at  the  bar. 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  advance,  or  even  to  insinuate 
anything  to  the  disparagement  of  that  well-known 
principle  of  English  law,  in  support  of  which,  the 
counsel  for  the  prisoners,  last  speaking,  has  produced 
so  many  authorities;  nor  should  I  think  it  necessary 
to  remark  particularly  on  it,  but  that  it  has  been 
traced  through  so  many  volumes,  and  urged  with 
so  much  eloquence  and  zeal,  as  though  it  were  the 
foundation  of  their  defence,  or  at  least  an  argument 
chiefly  relied  on.  But  if  you  consider  this  sort  of 
reasoning  for  a  moment,  you  will  be  sensible  that  it 
tends  more  to  amuse  than  to  enlighten;  and  without 
great  caution  may  captivate  your  minds  to  that 
principle  of  law,  which  is  endeared  by  the  attributes 
of  mercy  and  benignity,  while  it  draws  you  entirely 
from  justice  —  that  essential  principle,  without 
which  the  laws  were  but  an  empty  sound.  Justice, 
strict  justice,  is  the  ultimate  object  of  our  Jaws;  and 
to  me  it  seems  no  hard  task  to  maintain,  that  the 
attribute  of  benignity  or  mercy,  can  be  ascribed  to 
nothing  abstracted  from  that  of  justice;  that  a  law 
all  mercy,  would  be  an  unjust  law;  and  therefore, 
when  we  talk  of  benignity,  we  can  understand  no 
thing  more  than  what  is  comprehended  in  Lord 
Coke's  observation  on  our  law  in  general,  "that  it  is 
ultima  ratio"  the  last  improvement  of  reason,  which, 
in  the  nature  of  it,  will  not  admit  any  proposition 

[  218  1 


A  Cause  Cel£bre 


to  be  true,  of  which  it  has  not  evidence;  nor  deter 
mine  that  to  be  certain,  of  which  remains  a  doubt. 
If,  therefore,  in  the  examination  of  this  cause,  the 
evidence  is  not  sufficient  to  convince  you,  beyond 
reasonable  doubt,  of  the  guilt  of  all,  or  of  any  of  the 
prisoners,  by  the  benignity  and  reason  of  the  law, 
you  will  acquit  them.  But,  if  the  evidence  be  suf 
ficient  to  convince  you  of  their  guilt,  beyond  reason 
able  doubt,  the  justice  of  the  law  will  require  you  to 
declare  them  guilty,  and  the  benignity  of  the  law 
will  be  satisfied  with  the  fairness  and  impartiality 
of  their  trial. 

Paine  began  in  one  afternoon  and  concluded 
the  following  noon.  John  Adams  made  the  clos 
ing  plea  for  the  prisoners,  with  exhaustive  cita 
tions  from  Crown  Reports,  introducing  classical 
allusions,  and  dwelling  on  the  benignity  of  Eng 
lish  law.  The  jury  returned  in  two  hours  and 
a  half.  They  declared  Weems,  Hartigan,  Mac- 
Cartey,  White,  Warren,  and  Carroll  not  guilty; 
the  defendants  had  been  pelted  with  sticks,  ice, 
and  stones,  in  anger;  their  action  was  justifiable 
homicide.  Kilroy  and  Montgomery  were  guilty 
of  manslaughter.  Adams,  astute,  familiar  with  the 
loopholes  of  the  law,  and  having  regard  for  the 
obligations  of  humanity,  pleaded  for  "benefit  of 
clergy."  The  sentence  was  commuted  by  the 
judges,  and  instead  of  dangling  from  the  gallows, 
thanks  to  John  Adams,  the  culprits  held  up  their 

[219] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


hands  and  set  their  teeth  while  a  hot  iron  sizzled 
on  the  balls  of  their  thumbs.  That  was  redress 
for  the  death  of  five  civilians ! 

Paine  was  disappointed  in  the  verdict,  but  he 
had  conducted  the  case  with  spirit,  and  won  the 
acclaim  of  the  leading  Whigs  of  America.  The 
acquittal  of  Captain  Preston  did  not  meet  public 
approval.  In  a  few  days  the  town  poet  burst 
forth  in  lines  which  were  found  posted  on  the 
Town-House  door: 

To  see  the  suffering  of  my  fellow  towns-men, 
And  own  myself  a  man,  to  see  the  court 
Cheat  the  injured  people  with  a  shew 
Of  justice,  which  we  ne'er  can  taste  of, 
Drive  us  like  wrecks  down  the  rough  tide  of  power, 
While  no  hold  's  left  to  save  us  from  destruction,  — 
All  that  bear  this  are  slaves,  and  we  are  such, 
Not  to  rouse  up  at  the  great  call  of  Nature 
And  free  the  world  from  such  domestic  tyrants. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Great  and  General  Court 

I  aim  at  nobler  objects,  what  say  you  to  politics  —  the  general 
assembly?  —  MACAULAY. 

ONCE  in  practice,  the  next  ambition  of  the 
young  lawyer  is  to  secure  a  seat  in  the 
Great  and  General  Court,  that  he  may 
widen  his  web  to  catch  more  flies.  Leonard  was 
Colonel  White's  political  legatee,  much  as  White 
had  caught  the  mantle  of  his  father-in-law,  Squire 
Williams.  So  it  came  about  that  Leonard,  after 
stepping  into  White's  shoes  as  King's  Attorney, 
became  a  candidate  for  Representative  at  the 
May  elections.  Burke  once  said  the  best  way  to 
relieve  private  griefs  is  to  devote  attention  to 
public  affairs.  There  was  much  sympathy  for  the 
young  lawyer,  not  yet  twenty-nine,  who  had  lost 
his  beautiful  bride.  He  had  shown  unusual 
faculty  in  debate;  his  mind  was  well  cultivated 
and  vigorous;  his  warmth  of  heart  and  liberality 
had  given  him  a  wide  circle  of  friends.  His  father 
had  a  scheme  to  establish  a  new  town  out  of 
Norton,  North  Precinct,  and  brought  strong  in 
fluences  to  bear.  These  were  favorable  elements 
in  his  canvass.  With  James  Williams,  Daniel  was 
elected,  and  duly  appeared  in  Boston,  May  31, 
1769,  to  take  a  new  oath  of  fidelity  to  King  George. 
[  221  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  first  business  of  the  Assembly  was  framing 
a  preamble:  "Whereas  a  military  guard  is  kept 
with  cannon  pointed  at  the  very  door  of  the 
State  House,"  etc.  The  members  protested  that 
legislating  in  the  cannon's  mouth  was  "incon 
sistent  with  the  dignity  and  freedom  with  which 
the  Assembly  has  a  right  to  deliberate,  consult, 
and  determine." 

Commonly,  the  members  from  the  country, 
rough-spoken  and  redolent  of  tobacco,  were  in 
clined  to  be  a  little  awkward  and  formal  in 
manner,  brusque,  heavy-minded,  not  especially 
at  ease  with  strangers.  But  this  native  of  the 
timber-lands  of  Norton  was  never  rus  in  urbe.  If 
city  dandies  twitted  him  for  carrying  soil  on  his 
boots,  he  dusted  them  with  his  bandana  and 
might  answer,  "Yes,  yes,  I  am  Lord  of  Acres." 
When  the  House  had  assembled  and  the  presiding 
officer  was  appointing  his  committee  to  notify 
the  Governor  of  the  election  of  a  Speaker,  Leon 
ard  won  a  place,  possibly  by  his  polished  appear 
ance.  The  committee  proceeded  with  pomp  and 
dignity  across  to  the  Province  House;  notified 
Governor  Francis  Bernard  that  the  House  was 
organized  and  ready  for  business;  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  kindly  point  his  cannon  the  other  way.1 

1  Popular  esteem  for  this  Governor  was  never  conspicuous; 
feeling  now  ran  so  high  that  some  Harvard  students  cut  the 
heart  from  a  painting  of  him  hanging  in  the  College. 
[222] 


fteri  1 1 


•' 


yl^^t 

**% 


<f£s 


^^ 


-^brt^JtS?^-^^          -  '        • 

r^^lT^II^ -^  •  ^jr I'tllt  | 


OLD    PROVINCE    HOUSE,    BOSTON 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

Leonard  was  among  those  voting  (June  29)  to 
request  King  George  to  recall  Bernard  —  the 
reason  given  being  his  published  letters  charged 
both  houses  of  the  General  Court  with  "oppug- 
nation  against  royal  authority."  Moreover,  they 
wished  for  Governor  a  native  of  New  England, 
who  understood  their  traditions  and  ideals.  There 
upon  (July  16)  Sir  Francis  testily  prorogued  the 
Assembly.  Leonard  went  over  to  the  Royal  Ex 
change  Tavern,  where  an  indignation  meeting  was 
held,  and  after  a  stormy  discussion,  promoted  by 
rounds  of  punch,  he  hitched  up  his  chaise,  put  a 
bag  of  grain  under  the  seat,  and  started  to  report 
to  his  constituents  at  home. 

Two  or  three  short  sessions  of  the  Legislature 
were  held  in  the  course  of  a  year.  During  one  of 
the  interims  Leonard  had  again  married.1  He 
was  now  in  possession  of  a  new  wife,  new  house, 
new  revenue,  and  felt  it  proper  to  drive  to  Boston 
with  a  coach  and  pair,  as  no  lawyer  in  the  Pro 
vince  had  ever  done.  So  narrow  were  some  of  the 
streets  that  John  Hancock  must  carefully  look, 
as  he  drove  in  at  one  end,  to  make  sure  that 
Leonard  was  not  driving  in  at  the  other. 

1  There  is  a  custom  in  the  Legislature  of  making  a  present  to 
a  Benedict  during  the  session  —  a  perquisite  not  to  be  over 
looked  by  a  scheming  bride.  Instead  of  two  hundred  and  forty 
members  as  now,  there  were  then  but  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  in  the  Assembly. 

[223] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Thomas  Hutchinson  became  the  acting  Gov 
ernor  in  place  of  Bernard  recalled.  Dr.  Wheaton, 
whose  son  was  Leonard's  American  agent  in  after 
years,  was  the  Norton  Representative,  and  Zeph- 
aniah  Leonard  came  from  Raynham.1  Daniel 
introduced  his  bill  to  create  a  new  town  at  the 
Norton  North  Precinct.  This  was  duly  enacted 
April  20,  1770,  and  Ephraim  Leonard  was  ap 
pointed  to  notify  the  townspeople  to  hold  a  meet 
ing  to  choose  town  officers.  Ephraim  Leonard 
chose  the  name  "Mansfield,"  in  honor  of  Lord 
Mansfield,  Chief  Justice  of  England*  an  eminent 
Tory,  thus  giving  an  intimation  of  the  Leonard 
attitude  in  politics.2  In  this  session  the  Taunton 
Representative  secured  an  act  to  define  the  bound 
ary  of  the  "Precinct"  between  Taunton  and 
Middleboro —  a  good  job  for  Paine,  then  surveyor 
of  highways  in  Taunton. 

Governor  Hutchinson  convened  the  Assembly 
at  Cambridge,  in  Philosophy  Hall.  This  cham 
ber,  restored  after  the  big  fire,  brought  back  to 
Leonard  memories  of  the  days  when  he  fagged 
his  brain  over  Bacon's  "Essays,"  Newton's  "Prin- 
cipia,"  or  Locke  "On  the  Human  Understanding." 
Cambridge  was  displeasing  to  the  Assembly  on 
account  of  inadequate  accommodations  there  and 

1  One  year  we  find  the  town  of  Raynham  paying  a  substan 
tial  fine  for  neglecting  to  return  a  member. 

2  A  few  years  later  the  General  Court  repented  its  act  and 
attempted,  unsuccessfully,  to  change  this  unhappy  name. 

[  224  ] 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

general  inconvenience.   The  first  business  of  the 
session  of   1770,  therefore,  was  to  remonstrate 
against  leaving  Boston  without  necessity.    The 
committee  to  draft  the  remonstrance  consisted  of 
James  Bowdoin,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock, 
Major  Hawley,  and  Daniel  Leonard;  they  repre 
sented  that  only  twice  before  had  the  Court  been 
removed,  on  account  of  smallpox  in  Boston,  and 
that  there  was  now  no  such  necessity.   The  Gov 
ernor   refused  to  yield,  alleging  that   the  char 
ter  gave  him  the  right  to  assemble  the  General 
Court  wherever  he  chose.  A  second  time  Leonard 
was  on   the   committee   to  make    protest,   and 
again  the  Governor  put  his  foot  down.    Then 
the  Assembly  voted  that  it  should  hereafter  meet 
in  the  Boston  Town  House,  the  committee  to 
convey  this  resolution  to  the  Governor  being  the 
two  Adamses,   John  Hancock,   James  Warren, 
and  Daniel  Leonard.    The  House  stubbornly  re 
fused  to  do  any  business,  and  on  June  25  Hutch- 
inson  adjourned  it  to  July  25,  to  meet  at  the  same 
Philosophy  Hall.      The  members   nursed   their 
wrath  and  sullenly  met,  only  to  send  another  re 
monstrance,  with  Leonard  still  a  member  of  the 
committee.    Hutchinson  now  adjourned  the  As 
sembly  to  September  26,  again  naming  Cambridge 
as  the  place  of  meeting.    There  was  no  change  in 
the  attitude  of  either  side,  when  it  met,  and  a  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer  was   appointed  for  Octo- 
[  225  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


her  3,  1770.  The  appeal  to  Providence  did  not 
soften  the  obdurate  Governor;  and  on  October  9, 
the  House  voted,  59  to  29,  to  proceed  to  business 
"under  absolute  necessity."  Hutchinson  smiled. 

The  accumulating  troubles  of  Massachusetts 
led  the  Assembly  to  appoint  an  agent  in  England, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  felt  that  the  royal  Governor 
did  not  represent  the  will  of  the  people.  The  agent 
chosen  to  present  the  grievances  of  Massachusetts 
was  a  native  of  Boston,  Benjamin  Franklin,  with 
a  salary  of  £800.  Leonard  was  much  on  his  legs 
during  the  session,  and  so  thoroughly  imbued  with 
patriotic  zeal  was  he  considered,  that  he  was  ap 
pointed  on  the  committee  to  consider  Franklin's 
report.  In  May,  1771,  he  was  elected  for  the  third 
time,  and  again  drove  to  Boston,  with  General 
Godfrey  as  colleague.  The  friction  between  the 
Governor  and  Legislature  was  growing  apace. 
As  soon  as  the  Assembly  organized  at  Cambridge, 
the  customary  protest  against  this  place  of  meet 
ing  was  sent  up  by  a  committee  (James  Warren, 
John  Hancock,  Sam  Adams,  and  Daniel  Leonard), 
to  which  the  Governor  answered  by  adjourning 
them  to  July  25,  1772,  — at  Cambridge. 

Leonard  ran  for  reelection  in  1772  against  Ne- 
hemiah  Lyscombe,1  but  was  seized  with  measles 

1  Lyscombe  was  a  "political  moth";  the  fire  blazed  too 
brightly;  this  seems  to  be  his  sole  appearance  in  provincial 
affairs. 

[  226  ] 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

at  a  critical  point  in  the  spring  campaign  and  was 
defeated. 

In  May,  1773,  the  cry  went  up,  "no  taxation 
without  representation,"  -  a  plausible  excuse 
for  independence.  If  Parliament  had  consented 
to  representation,  the  colonists  would  have  been 
bound  closer  to  the  mother  country  and  there 
would  have  been  no  separation.  The  stress  of  the 
times  demanded  the  ablest  men  for  the  General 
Court;  and  in  Paine's  diary  we  find  this  entry: 

May  17,  1773.  Dan'l  Leonard  and  I  chosen  Re 
presentatives  of  the  town. 

Paine  was  now  forty-two  years  old  and  had 
held  various  other  offices,  but  this  was  his  first 
election  to  the  General  Court.  There  had  been 
many  indications  of  his  patriotic  principles.  His 
.first  office  in  Taunton  was  moderator  of  the  town 
meeting;  he  was  also  on  a  committee  to  investi 
gate  an  attempt  to  evade  the  revenue  law  in  1765 ; 
and  he  had  been  sent  down  to  Boston  in  1768  to 
a  convention  to  protest  against  quartering  troops 
upon  the  people.  The  title  of  "Honorable"  was 
already  prefixed  to  his  name.  In  1771  we  find 
him  assisting  in  the  erection  of  the  new  court 
house,  and  in  repairing  the  jail.  He  was  chair 
man  of  theTVigilance  Committee  of  Taunton  in 

1773- 

Both  Representatives  took  an  active  part  in 
[  227  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


this  session,  serving  on  many  committees.  Leon 
ard  now  bore  the  title  of  "Colonel"  on  the  Jour 
nal.  The  first  day  of  the  session,  Paine  was  on  the 
committee  to  notify  the  Governor,  as  Leonard  had 
been  four  years  before.  He  was  also  one  of  a  com 
mittee  of  nine  to  consider  the  Hutchinson  and 
Oliver  letters  sent  over  by  Franklin,  as  prejudi 
cial  to  Massachusetts.  Upon  recommendation  of 
this  committee,  another  committee  consisting  of 
Thomas  Gushing,  John  Hancock,  Sam  Adams, 
Major  Hawley,  and  Daniel  Leonard  drafted  a 
letter  to  the  King  asking  the  removal  of  Hutch 
inson  and  Oliver.  Hutchinson  immediately  set 
about  to  win  over  Leonard  to  his  views,  and  was 
successful,  as  we  have  seen.  On  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence,  chosen  by  ballot  May  28, 
1773,  were  Speaker  Cushing,  John  Hancock, 
Sam  Adams,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Daniel  Leonard,  and 
several  others.  Leonard's  popularity  at  this  time 
is  shown  by  his  selection  in  preference  to  Paine, 
from  Taunton,  a  patriotic  centre  of  importance. 
By  the  middle  of  the  session,  Paine  waxes  more 
prominent  in  the  counsels  of  the  House,  while 
Leonard  wanes.  Paine,  Cushing,  and  Sam  Adams 
prepared  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Leonard  and  Paine  introduced  a  joint  resolution, 
that  the  County  Court  at  Taunton  should  be 
holden  in  September  instead  of  June,  since  it 
was  important  that  members  of  the  Legislature 
[  228  1 


x  /.<-/ 


x/- 


•/**,'  r.,../  ,,r  /*<   ,,r..f  jg^' 
'/.,   ...-*,.,. 


PETITION   TO    REGULATE    HERRING   FISHERIES,    1774 
(Signed  by  Paine  and  Leonard) 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

be  present,  some  of  whom  had  business  in  both 
places  in  June. 

The  second  session  of  the  year  convened  Janu 
ary  26, 1774,  'm  Boston.  Paine,  now  better  known, 
was  on  the  committee  to  "Consider  the  State 
of  the  Province,"  and  also  to  report  what  pro 
ceedings  should  be  taken  against  the  justices  who 
persisted  in  accepting  salaries  from  the  Crown. 
In  June,  1773,  the  Assembly  had  asked  the  Jus 
tices  of  the  Superior  Court  whether  they  would 
receive  grants  from  the  General  Court  or  take  their 
pay  from  the  Crown.  All  except  Oliver  signified 
their  intention  of  receiving  their  salaries  from  the 
Assembly.  On  this  committee  Paine  made  a 
first  draft  of  the  letter  of  impeachment  against 
Judge  Oliver.  A  crucial  test  came  on  February  1 1, 
1774,  when  the  committee  reported  that  Oliver 
should  be  impeached.  Leonard  voted  against  the 
report,  with  nine  other  Tories.  On  February  24, 
1774,  the  Chief  Justice  was  impeached  by  the 
most  important  committee  of  that  session.  Its 
members  were  Adams,  Hancock,  Paine,  Hawley, 
Phillips,  Heath,  Thayer,  Pickering,  and  Fuller. 

March  3,  1774,  a  petition  from  Taunton  to 
regulate  alewife  fishing,  bearing  the  signatures, 
side  by  side,  of  Leonard  and  Paine,  was  granted.1 
We  find  them  voting  together  to  compensate 

1  Artemas  Ward,  Henry  Gardner,  and   Benjamin   Lincoln 
came  to  Taunton  to  adjust  the  dispute. 
[  229  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Thomas  Leggett  (presumably  an  inhabitant  of 
Taunton)  for  his  expense  and  trouble  in  "pursu 
ing  and  bringing  to  justice  one  Hussy  for  theft." 
They  walked  together  at  the  funeral  of  Lieuten 
ant-Governor  Oliver,  when  the  militia  officers 
were  placed  ahead  of  the  Assembly  in  the  parade, 
at  which  the  latter,  indignant,  formed  another 
procession.  Three  cheers  were  given  over  the 
grave  by  a  few  irreverent  Patriots. 

Paine  was  on  a  committee  which  drafted  a 
letter  of  remonstrance  to  the  incoming  Governor 
Gage,  in  March,  1774,  which  Gage  declared  an 
insult  to  his  predecessor  and  an  affront  to  him 
self.  The  General  Court  adjourned  March  8, 
and  March  30  was  dissolved  by  the  Governor. 

Leonard  was  drifting  away  from  'the  Whig 
policies  of  his  constituents,  but  under  his  lace 
and  brocade  beat  a  heart  warm  for  friendship, 
and  Taunton  elected  him  for  the  fifth  time  in 
May,  1774,  with  Paine  as  colleague.1  Though 
still  loyal  to  his  sovereign,  Paine  had  developed 
liberal  views,  while  Leonard,  supporting  the  acts 
of  the  ministry,  was  endorsing  the  most  abomin 
able  British  tyranny.  The  Preamble  of  this  vol 
ume  is  an  attempt  to  picture  these  two  Repre 
sentatives  as  Leonard's  coach  creaked  and  swayed 
over  the  rough  roads  toward  Boston,  and  momen- 

1  Dr.  William  Baylies,  brother-in-law  of  Leonard,  was  sent 
from  Dighton  that  year. 

[230] 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

tous  questions,  which  so  strongly  influenced  their 
future  lives,  were  being  discussed — matters  which 
Leonard  afterwards  put  in  his  Massachusettensis 
papers,  and  Paine  argued  in  the  Continental 
Congress. 

After  a  three  days'  session  in  Boston,  Gage  ad 
journed  the  Assembly  to  the  Salem  Court-House, 
June  7, 1774.  Leonard  was  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  to  notify  Governor  Gage;  he  was  also  on 
a  committee  to  consider  building  hospitals  for 
smallpox  cases.  Paine  was  of  a  committee  to  draw 
up  a  new  writ  of  elections;  to  bring  in  a  bill  for 
the  prevention  of  bribery  and  corruption;  also 
on  committees  to  regulate  "hawkers";  to  con 
sider  petitions  for  the  sale  of  lands;  and  to  regu 
late  the  bills  of  credit  of  neighboring  colonies. 
A  petition  of  Felix  Holbrook  and  other  negroes, 
praying  that  they  might  be  free,  he  shrewdly  voted 
to  refer  to  the  next  General  Court.  Paine's  con 
science  may  have  twinged  when  he  remembered 
how  he  had  sold  the  negro,  "London,  "in  Carolina.1 

1  Both  Paine  and  Leonard  were  slaveholders.  In  Paine's 
diary,  August,  1771,  we  read:  "This  day  I  bought  of  Robert 
Caldwell  an  Irish  servant  lad  named  Michael  Crooke,  for  four 
years  from  the  first  day  of  August  inst."  In  October,  1774, 
Michael,  with  Captain  Cobb's  negro,  Cato,  ran  away;  they 
were  captured  at  Bristol,  and  put  in  jail  for  ten  days.  The 
white  slaves  were  indentured  servants,  chiefly  from  Ireland, 
and  often  we  find  such  slaves  buried  beside  their  masters. 
Paine's  wife  wrote  him,  during  his  later  absence  in  Philadelphia, 
that  she  bought  a  "mustee"  servant  from  Cuba,  "so  pretty  you 

[231] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


At  this  session,  a  committee  was  chosen  os 
tensibly  to  consider  "the  State  of  the  Province," 
but,  as  Sam  Adams  alone  knew,  really  to  select 
delegates  to  the  First  Continental  Congress. 
The  whole  continent  was  looking  to  Massachu 
setts  to  appoint  a  time  and  place  for  this  meeting. 
So  popular  was  Leonard  that  in  spite  of  his  waver 
ing,  he  was  elected  one  of  this  committee  of  nine. 
To  effect  his  purpose  Adams  required  the  utmost 
secrecy;  the  Governor's  officials  were  watching 
closely.  Any  visible  movement  toward  a  general 
Congress  would  be  thwarted,  if  discovered,  by 
instant  dissolution  of  the  Assembly.  The  pen 
etrating  Adams  saw  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
have  Leonard  in  his  counsels;  he  must  resort 
to  strategy,  or  his  scheme  would  fail.  So  the 
committee  held  official  meetings,  and  under  the 
clever  manipulation  of  Adams,  discussed  nothing 
but  vague  propositions  for  conciliation.  Every 
morning,  Leonard  punctually  met  with  the  com 
mittee  and  in  the  evening  stealthily  communi 
cated  its  proceedings  to  Gage,  representing  that 
the  Legislature  would  recommend  conciliatory 
measures,  that  the  rash  act  of  converting  Boston 
Harbor  into  a  teapot  would  be  paid  for  by  the 

must  give  her  a  pretty  name."  Paine  christened  her  "Dolly." 
The  town  of  Boston  voted  to  abolish  slavery  in  1767,  and  June 
14,  1774,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  to  prohibit  the 
importation  of  negroes. 

[   232  ] 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

penitent  "Mohawks,"  that  the  King's  measures 
would  prevail.  Little  did  he  suspect  that  every 
afternoon  his  committee  was  secretly  meeting 
in  a  garret  where  Adams  quietly  perfected  his 
plans.  Gage  relaxed  his  vigilance.  To  insure  the 
success  of  his  plot,  Adams,  "master  of  the  pup 
pets,"  now  turns  to  his  convenient  friend,  Paine, 
and  engages  him  to  induce  Leonard  to  go  home 
to  Taunton  under  pretext  of  legal  business.1 

Having  won  over  a  majority  of  the  House  to 
his  point  of  view,  Adams  precipitated  his  coup 
d'etat  on  Friday,  June  17.  As  soon  as  the  Assembly 
came  to  order,  the  "smooth  and  placid  Adams" 
locked  the  door  and  put  the  key  in  his  pocket. 

1  An  account  of  this  strategy  is  found  in  Force's  Archives: 
Governor  Hutchinson  had  been  superseded  by  General  Gage,  who 
came  as  both  a  military  and  civil  leader  (commander-in-chief),  and  to 
him  was  committed  the  execution  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill.  According 
ly,  agreeable  to  his  instruction,  after  the  General  Court  had  met  at  the 
end  of  May,  he  adjourned  them  to  meet  at  Salem,  June  7.  The  Court, 
as  soon  as  met,  proceeded  to  organize  itself  as  usual,  one  feature  being 
to  choose  a  committee  of  nine  members  to  consider  and  report  on  the 
state  of  the  Province,  as  the  usage  for  many  years  had  been.  Thomas 
Gushing,  having  been  chosen  Speaker,  had  to  put  the  question  on  the 
nomination  of  this  committee.  Eight  persons  were  nominated  and 
chosen,  all  considered  firm  in  opposition  to  British  measures;  but  by 
the  mixture  of  nominations  of  both  parties  in  the  House,  the  name  of 
Leonard  was  so  repeated  that  the  Speaker  found  himself  obliged  to 
declare  him  chosen. 

Leonard  was  a  man  of  radical  good  sense  and  eloquence,  polite  and  of 
engaging  address,  and  had  been  chosen  several  years  as  member  for  the 


town  of  Taunton,  on  the  idea  of  his  firm  and  able  support  of  the  oppo 
sition,  in  which  his  town  was  so  determined;  but  on  the  prevailing  ad- 

norHutchir 
unsafe  for 

the  Provin< 

[    233    ] 


dress  and  salutation  of  Governor  Hutchinson,  he  had  changed  his  prin 
ciples;  and  it  was  considered  unsafe  for  the  committee  to  enter  into 
consideration  of  the  state  of  the  Province,  on  principles  of  opposition 
while  he  was  present. 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


His  confederates  were  carefully  drilled  for  their 
parts;  resolves  were  presented  appointing  a  com 
mittee  to  meet  on  the  first  of  September  at  Phila 
delphia,  with  instructions  ato  deliberate  upon 
the  wise  and  proper  means  to  be  by  them  recom 
mended  to  all  the  Colonies  for  the  recovery  and 
establishment  of  the  just  rights  and  liberties, 
civil  and  religious,  and  most  ardently  desired 
by  all  good  men.9'  The  Tory  members  were  in 
uproar  in  their  effort  to  defeat  the  measure. 
Under  pretext  of  illness,  one  escaped  by  a  win 
dow,  and  rushed  to  communicate  the  tidings  to 
Governor  Gage,  who  immediately  sent  a  mes 
sage  of  prorogation.  Thomas  Flucker,  Secretary 
of  the  Province,  hurried  to  the  hall  with  this 
proclamation,  but  pounded  on  the  locked  door  in 
vain.  A  crowd  assembled,  including  some  be 
lated  members  of  the  Assembly,  and  to  these,  from 
the  stairway,  the  messenger  read  the  order.  But 
Sam  Adams  and  the  enthusiastic  Whigs  within 
were  "deaf,"  and  proceeded  to  appropriate  five 
hundred  pounds  for  the  expenses  of  the  five  dele 
gates  to  Philadelphia.  Then  the  door  was  quietly 
opened  for  Mr.  Flucker  to  enter. 

Paine,  by  spiriting  Leonard  away,  had  saved 
the  day,  and  as  reward  for  valuable  service  Sam 
Adams  had  placed  him  on  the  Congressional 
Committee,  the  only  member  from  Massachu 
setts  outside  of  Boston.  On  their  way  back  to 

[234] 


%  I 

a  "= 


w    ; 

2^      C 


The  Great  and  General  Court 

Boston  the  Taunton  legislators  learned  of  the  pro 
ceedings  at  Salem.  Thenceforward  relations  were 
decidedly  cool  between  Paine  and  Leonard. 

In  December,  1774,  the  Provincial  Assembly, 
of  which  Leonard  was  still,  officially,  a  member, 
passed  this  resolve: 

Tuesday,  December  6,  1774,  Afternoon. 

Resolved,  That  the  names  of  the  following  per 
sons  be  published  repeatedly,  they  having  been  ap 
pointed  councillors  of  this  province  by  mandamus, 
and  have  not  published  a  renunciation  of  their  com 
missions,  viz.:  Thomas  Flucker,  Foster  Hutchinson, 
Harrison  Gray,  William  Browns,  James  Bouteneau, 
Joshua  Loring,  William  Pepperrell,  John  Erving,  Jr., 
Peter  Oliver,  Richard  Letchmere,  Josiah  Edson, 
Nathaniel  Ray  Thomas,  Timothy  Ruggles,  John 
Murray  and  Daniel  Leonard,  Esquires. 

These  officials  were  further  proscribed  by  this 
Provincial  Assembly  at  Concord,  March  31, 1775, 
when  a  committee  reported  as  follows : 

Friday  A.M. 

Resolved,  That  the  names  of  the  following  persons 
be  published  in  all  the  Boston  newspapers,  who,  hav 
ing  been  appointed  Councillors  by  his  Majesty's 
Mandamus,  and  having  accepted,  and  acted  under 
said  commissions,  have  proved  themselves  implac 
able  enemies  to  the  liberties  of  their  country,  by 
refusing  to  publish  a  renunciation  of  their  com- 

[235] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


missions,  agreeably  to  a  resolve  of  a  former  Pro 
vincial  Congress:  That  the  secretary  be  directed  to 
transmit  authenticated  copies  of  this  resolve,  with 
names  annexed,  to  all  the  printers  in  Boston,  and 
that  they  be  desired  to  insert  the  same  in  their 
papers,  that  every  town  may  be  possessed  of  their 
names,  which  are  to  be  entered  upon  the  town  and 
district  records,  that  they  may  be  sent  down  to 
posterity,  if  possible,  with  the  infamy  they  deserve. 

After  the  war  began  the  Assembly  declared  these 
High  Tories,  then  in  exile,  to  be  traitors  to  their 
country  and  voted  capital  punishment  upon  them. 
Thus  Daniel  Leonard,  forbidden  to  return  under 
penalty  of  the  halter,  was  posted  in  Taunton  with 
the  disgrace  which  attaches  to  a  traitor.  On  the 
other  hand,  Paine  had  been  proscribed  by  George 
III,  to  whom  he  had  been  reported  by  Hutchin- 
son  as  "one  of  the  busy  spirits  to  be  put  down." 
In  1775,  Paine  and  his  brother-in-law,  David 
Cobb,  who  succeeded  Leonard,  were  sent  to  the 
Provincial  Assembly  at  Watertown.  Paine  was 
again  elected  in  1777,  when  he  served  pro  tempore 
as  Speaker. 


CHAPTER   XV 

The  Continental  Congress 

These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls;  the  summer  soldier  and  the 
sunshine  patriot  will,  in  this  crisis,  shrink  from  the  service  of  their  coun 
try;  but  he  that  stands  it  now  deserves  the  thanks  and  love  of  man  and 
woman.  —  T.  PAINE  (in  1776). 

THAT  midsummer  journey  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  delegates  to  the  First  American 
Congress  in  1774,  was  akin  to  the  Can 
terbury  Pilgrimage.  A  modern  Chaucer  might 
divertingly  relate  the  experiences  of  the  four  way 
farers  as  they  travelled  across  country  on  their 
three  weeks'  drive  to  Philadelphia.  Leaving  the 
house  of  Thomas  Gushing,  in  Bromfield  Street, 
the  foggy  morning  of  August  10,  they  started 
with  some  parade  to  fulfil  their  instructions  to 
"cement  a  lasting  and  permanent  friendship  with 
the  mother  country."  The  yellow  coach  and  four, 
with  mounted  white  guards  in  front  and  liveried 
blacks  in  the  rear,  took  a  turn  around  Boston 
Common,  in  sight  of  the  British  regiments  there 
encamped,  and  rolled  off  to  Watertown.  As  they 
passed  the  soldiers,  one  of  the  horses  balked,  until 
a  British  officer,  pushing  his  head  inside  the  coach, 
sardonically  inquired  if  they  had  not  harnessed 
in  a  Tory  steed  by  mistake. 

Sam  Adams's  admiring  neighbors  raised  a  purse 
[  237  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  fit  him  out  with  a  new  coat,  breeches,  hat,  and 
wig.  John  Adams,  the  scribe  of  the  company,  had 
laid  in  quills  and  paper  for  his  correspondence 
with  Abigail.  Paine,  the  most  experienced  travel 
ler  of  the  party,  carrying  a  white  canvas  bag 
and  ivory-tipped  cane,  played  the  role  of  jester. 
Speaker  Gushing,  "a  harmless  kind  of  man,"  was 
not  quite  so  poor  as  his  colleagues  and  could  pay 
for  tobacco  and  Madeira  along  the  way;  but 
having  property  at  stake,  Gushing  was  so  indif 
ferent  to  the  experiment  of  independence  that 
he  was  defeated  for  reelection.  Of  this  passenger 
list,  Sam  Adams  was  fifty-two;  Thomas  Gush 
ing,  forty-nine;  Paine,  forty-three;  John  Adams, 
thirty-eight;  —  all  in  the  vigorous  prime  of  life. 
Their  route  lay  through  Watertown,  Southboro, 
Hartford,  Wallingford,  New  Haven,  Milford, 
Fairfield,  Norwalk,  Kingsbridge,  to  New  York. 
There  they  stopped  at  the  Bunch  of  Grapes 
Tavern  for  several  days;  then  crossed  the  Jersey 
ferry  to  Elizabethtown,  and  so  on  to  Princeton, 
Trenton,  Bristol,  and  Philadelphia. 

At  Watertown  they  were  regaled  with  a  ban 
quet;  along  the  way,  much  notice  was  taken  of 
them;  their  speeches  and  achievements  had  given 
weight  to  their  names;  the  fact  that  Massachu 
setts  was  taking  a  prominent  part  in  demonstra 
tions  against  the  Crown  added  to  their  popularity; 
church  bells  were  rung  as  they  passed;  men  waved 

[238] 


The  Continental  Congress 

approval  along  the  road,  and  good  wives  came 
to  their  doorways  to  eye  them  curiously.  They 
travelled  in  the  cool  of  the  morning;  tobacco 
smoke  poured  from  the  coach  windows  above  the 
billows  of  dust  which  trailed  behind.  Many  good 
stories  were  told  inside,  and  very  likely  Paine  en 
tertained  them  with  a  song.  There  was  a  chance 
to  study  human  nature,  which  discloses  itself  in 
such  close  companionship.  John  Adams,  doc 
trinaire  of  the  company,  was  not  in  good  humor. 
He  confided  to  Abigail  as  to  this  journey: 

No  mortal  tale  could  equal  it.  The  fidgets,  the 
whims,  the  caprices,  the  vanity,  the  superstitions, 
the  irritability  of  some  of  us  is  enough  to  — " 

Here  words  failed  him.  When  Leonard  was  men 
tioned,  even  Sam  Adams  smiled  as  they  told  what 
a  trick  they  had  played  on  poor  Daniel;  but  they 
grew  serious  at  the  thought  of  consequences,  in 
case  their  mission  should  not  prosper.  Sam  Adams, 
touchy,  scheming,  and  velvet-fingered,  was  work 
ing  out  plans  to  manipulate  the  Congress.  He 
wanted  Massachusetts  to  govern  America,  Boston 
to  govern  Massachusetts,  and  himself  to  govern 
Boston.1  As  they  jolted  along,  he  instructed  the 

1  The  single  name  Adams  means  Samuel,  not  John;  the 
latter  discovered  in  Europe  that  he  was  not  "the  great 
Adams";  and  Paine  in  1776  found  that  there  was  another 
Paine  greater  than  he  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  When  " Paine  " 
was  spoken  of,  it  meant  Thomas,  not  Robert. 

[   239  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


company  not  to  obtrude  the  special  grievances  of 
Massachusetts,  but  to  have  patience  until  the 
ferment  of  independence  had  worked  to  the  sur 
face.  Major  Hawley  sent  them  a  letter  of  advice, 
the  upshot  of  which  was  we  must  fight. 

This  quartette  of  Harvard-bred  comrades 
stopped  to  confer  with  college  faculties  along  the 
route.  Exuberant  undergraduates  at  Yale,  King's 
College,  and  Princeton  came  out  to  speed  them 
on  their  way  with  lusty  cheers.  The  travellers 
climbed  church  steeples,  comparing  them  to  the 
Old  South  for  height  and  beauty  of  the  pano 
rama  revealed;  they  visited  booksellers'  shops; 
they  feasted  on  chicken,  green  goslings,  peaches, 
and  "muskmelons  a  foot  and  a  half  long."  Choice 
china  and  silver  teapots  were  brought  out;  unac 
customed  curds  and  cheeses  eaten  —  the  fat  of 
the  land  was  none  too  good  for  them.  Indeed 
Massachusetts  delegates  became  so  habituated  to 
elaborate  entertainments  that  once  at  a  tavern 
they  took  possession  of  bountifully  laden  tables, 
supposing  them  spread  in  their  honor — but  were 
chagrined  to  find  the  banquet  prepared  for  a 
bridal  party  momentarily  expected. 

At  Milford,  Connecticut,  Paine  took  the  party 
to  the  tomb  of  Robert  Treat,  to  read  the  inscrip 
tion  showing  that  his  ancestor  had  been  Gov 
ernor  or  Lieu  tenant-Governor  for  thirty  years. 
At  New  York,  the  Connecticut  delegates  joined 
[  240  ] 


The  Continental  Congress 

them;  and  John  Rutledge  from  South  Carolina 
rode  along  in  their  party  —  a  congenial  friend  to 
Paine,  with  whom  he  could  compare  notes  and 
experiences  among  the  rice  plantations.  At 
Princeton,  President  Witherspoon  showed  the  or 
rery  invented  by  Rittenhouse,  over  which  Paine 
lingered  with  keen  fondness  for  astronomy.  By 
the  time  they  reached  Philadelphia,  the  dele 
gates  were  not  surprised  to  have  the  excited  pop 
ulace  unharness  the  horses  from  their  coach  and 
draw  it  by  hand  through  crowded  streets.  From 
the  opening  banquet  at  Watertown  till  they 
reached  Mrs.  Post's  lodgings  in  Philadelphia,1 
they  had  been  hailed  as  the  restorers  of  invaded 
rights  —  there  were  cheers  and  hats  in  the  air, 
and  "huzzas  for  brave  old  Boston." 

But  they  soon  found  themselves  unhappy. 
Letters  had  been  sent  by  some  friends  of  the 
Government  at  Boston  (of  whom  Leonard  may 
have  been  one),  representing  the  delegates  as  four 
"visionary  adventurers,"  a  notion  that  prevailed 
for  some  time.  A  year  later,  Chaplain  Duche,  of 
Philadelphia,  wrote  that  the  associates  of  John 
Hancock  were  "bankrupts,  attorneys,  and  men 
of  desperate  fortunes."  As  Massachusetts  men, 
taking  the  initiative  in  Congress,  they  must  first 

1  Paine's  bills  for  personal  adornment,  entertainment  of 
friends,  servant's  expenses,  care  of  his  horse,  and  his  own  board 
and  lodging  are  preserved  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives. 

[241] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


overcome  this  prejudice;  next  learn  the  character 
and  disposition  of  other  delegates ;  then  place  the 
case  of  Massachusetts  before  Congress  so  clearly 
that  it  could  not  fail  to  be  understood;  and  finally 
must  secure  full  colonial  cooperation,  without 
which  Boston's  heroic  struggle  would  go  for 
naught.  The  other  colonists  had  been  moulded 
by  different  influences  and  traditions.  Would  it 
be  possible  to  reconcile  the  differences,  to  smooth 
away  jealousies,  establish  a  mutual  understand 
ing,  unite  all  in  a  common  cause,  and  create  a 
nation  of  Americans  instead  of  Virginians,  New 
Yorkers,  and  New  Englanders  ? 

On  the  fifth  of  September  the  members  marched 
over  to  Carpenter's  Hall  and  opened  session. 
They  were  a  picturesque  and  motley  company, 
eyeing  each  other  with  the  curiosity  and  reserve 
peculiar  to  strangers.  Their  ostensible  purpose 
was  to  consider  the  affairs  of  the  country,  and 
present  a  petition  to  the  King  for  redress  of 
grievances;  but  far-seeing  men  knew  that  this 
meeting  was  a  long  step  toward  independence. 
The  several  colonies  presented  their  particular 
grievances  to  the  Congress,  but  all  eyes  were 
turned  to  the  Massachusetts  delegates,  who  had 
the  sympathy  of  the  body  on  account  of  the  Bos 
ton  Port  Bill.  They  met  behind  closed  doors, 
and  there  is  no  complete  journal  of  their  proceed 
ings.  Putting  our  ear  to  the  keyhole  of  Time, 

[242] 


The  Continental  Congress 

however,  we  hear  Paine  pleading  for  unity  of 
action  and  resistance  to  tyranny.  The  prosecutor 
in  the  Boston  Massacre  case  and  the  impeacher 
of  Oliver  was  sure  of  attention,  though  his  temper 
ament  did  not  prompt  fire-eating  oratory  against 
the  King. 

In  the  painting  of  the  first  prayer  in  Congress, 
we  see  Paine  kneeling  behind  Edward  Lynch. 
Had  not  the  shrewd  Adams  considered  it  diplo 
matic  to  ask  a  Southern  Episcopalian  clergyman 
to  lead  in  prayer,  he  might  have  explained  to  the 
members  that  Brother  Paine  had  ministerial  expe 
rience  and  have  called  upon  him  to  ask  the  divine 
blessing.  Paine's  clerical  affiliations  were  recog 
nized  by  his  appointment  on  committees  to  ar 
range  for  fasting  and  prayer. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  had 
sent  an  address  to  every  minister  in  the  Colony, 
urging  assistance  in  opposing  the  tyranny  of 
Great  Britain.  Most  of  them  gave  it,  save  Bap 
tists,  Quakers,  and  Episcopalians.  The  aggrieved 
Quakers  and  Baptists  took  this  opportunity  to 
try  to  gain  relief  from  their  disabilities  and  op 
pressions.  Shortly  after  Congress  opened,  Isaac 
Backus,  of  Middleboro,  and  President  Manning, 
of  the  College  of  Rhode  Island,  appeared  in 
Philadelphia  and  invited  the  delegates  from 
Massachusetts  to  meet  them  at  Carpenter's  Hall. 
Paine,  John  Adams,  and  Gushing  went  back 

[243] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  the  scene  of  the  day's  labors  one  evening,  ex 
pecting  to  find  a  handful  of  gentlemen  to  confer 
with.  As  they  entered  the  hall,  it  seemed  as  if 
Congress  had  met  for  an  evening  session.  Many 
of  the  company  had  their  hats  on.  Some  forty 
Baptists  and  Quakers,  "with  fires  gleaming  under 
their  broad  brims,"  had  met  to  tax  Massachusetts 
with  persecution  of  their  sects  and  with  restricting 
liberty  of  conscience.  Invoking  the  memory  of 
Roger  Williams,  they  dwelt  upon  the  persecution 
of  the  Baptists,  and  one  Pembroke  "bellowed 
loudly  against  Boston  for  hanging  Quakers."  The 
specific  complaint  was  that  citizens  were  taxed 
to  pay  for  the  Orthodox  meeting-houses,  and  the 
support  of  the  settled  ministers.  One  case  in 
point  with  the  Baptists  was  that  their  sect  had 
been  compelled  to  contribute  to  the  support  of 
the  minister  at  Ashfield. 

The  Congressional  delegates,  indignant  at 
being  summoned  before  this  self-appointed  tri 
bunal  which  charged  Massachusetts  with  religious 
persecution,  protested  in  turn  that  her  laws  were 
the  most  mild  and  equitable  in  the  world.  Paine, 
who  was  the  most  thoroughly  conversant  with 
religious  matters  (having  visited  President  Man 
ning  at  Warren  and  attended  Quaker  general 
assemblies),  was  leading  spokesman.  He  admitted 
that  in  earlier  days  the  Baptists  were  compelled 
to  pay  a  part  of  the  general  tax  to  support  the 
[  244] 


The  Continental  Congress 

Orthodox  Church,  but  pointed  out  that  under  the 
general  toleration  act  the  Baptists  were  released 
from  ministerial  rates  upon  certificates  of  being 
in  the  fellowship  of  their  denomination;  and  de 
clared  that  the  Massachusetts  laws  were  just. 

The  next  day  the  Baptists  sent  a  communica 
tion  to  Congress  saying  that  the  conference  was 
unsatisfactory,  and  they  must  seek  further  re 
dress.  Manning,  cool  in  the  patriotic  cause,  if 
not  actually  wishing  the  King's  success,  went 
back  to  Rehoboth  to  declare,  in  an  intemperate 
moment  at  a  council  of  Baptists,  that  there  was 
not  a  member  of  Congress  that  might  not  be 
bought,  and  he  knew  Parliament  had  determined 
to  buy  them;  that  the  Congregationalists  of  the 
North  and  Episcopalians  of  the  South  had  joined 
forces  to  crush  the  Baptists  between  them. 

This  was  the  most  representative  Congress 
ever  assembled  in  America;  composed,  not  of 
politicians,  but  of  men  of  recognized  capacities 
in  various  lines,  including  many  good  speakers. 
Rutledge,  Stockton,  Heywood,  Lynch,  Middleton, 
Pinckney,  and  Lawrence,  educated  in  England, 
brought  an  air  of  elegance  to  the  body.1  A  part 

1  The  men  of  greatest  abilities  and  influence  in  this  Con 
gress  were,  says  President  Stiles:  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams, 
Samuel  Ward,  Silas  Deane,  Matthew  Tilghman,  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Henry  Middleton,  John  Rutledge, 
Thomas  Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  Edward  Rutledge,  Ste 
phen  Hopkins,  Colonel  Bland. 

[245] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


only  of  the  radicals  had  been  concerned  in  calling 
this  Congress ;  it  was  not  legally  constituted,  nor 
did  it  have  any  authority  for  meeting  by  existing 
statutes.  Many  members  were  appointed  by  a 
small  minority  of  their  neighbors.  The  first  days 
were  spent  in  determining  how  members  should 
vote.  Paine  was  appointed  upon  the  committee 
to  draft  rules  of  debate.  The  session  lasted 
from  September  5  to  October  27.  Its  work  was 
largely  social,  bringing  all  sections  into  mutual 
sympathy  and  a  sense  of  unity.  Recognizing  a 
dinner  as  the  best  way  to  promote  harmony  and 
good  fellowship,  the  Philadelphians  arranged  a 
grand  banquet  for  the  members.  The  sentiment 
of  the  majority  being  still  for  conciliation,  this 
toast  was  given  at  the  dinner: 

May  the  soul  of  the  parent  never  be  stained  by 
the  blood  of  the  children. 

The  Quakers  decided  this  was  a  prayer,  and  filled 
up  their  glasses.  Reconciliation  was  ostensibly 
the  purpose,  but  the  two  Adamses  and  Paine  were 
for  making  arms  and  gunpowder,  since  Parlia 
ment  had  forbidden  their  exportation  to  America. 
Paine  was  not  so  zealous  as  Sam  Adams  for 
immediate  independence;  his  blood  was  colder. 
He  did  not  play  the  part  of  a  whipper-in,  but  fol 
lowed  rather  than  led  opinion.  Though  stanch  in 
spirit,  he  was  cautious  and  hesitant,  acting  as  a 

[246] 


The  Continental  Congress 

brake  on  the  wheel.1  But  he  read  the  signs  in  the 
skies.  At  a  party  once  given  by  Mr.  Mifflin  to 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  the  Rutledges,  Lee,  Adams,  and 
others,  Paine  gave  this  toast: 

May  the  collision  of  British  flint  and  American 
steel  produce  that  spark  of  liberty  which  shall 
illuminate  the  latest  posterity. 

Philadelphia  was  hospitable.  After  the  fatigues 
of  the  day,  the  delegates,  perhaps  rather  home 
sick,  were  glad  to  go  to  any  place  where  there 
were  bright  ladies,  a  good  cook,  and  a  cellar  of 
choice  wine.  The  New  Englanders  thought  Phila 
delphia  inferior  to  Boston  in  the  tone  of  morals, 
religion,  spirit,  and  language  —  but  admitted 
that  it  had  a  better  market  and  more  charity 
foundations.2  A  contemporary  news  item  from  a 
Philadelphia  paper  discloses  gayeties  attendant 
on  that  first  Congress  which  hurt  the  Quakers. 

The  time  of  dissolution  of  Congress  draws  near, 
and  all  good  Christians  view  its  approach  with  calm 
ness.  All  the  plays,  parties,  and  such  will  be  given 
up. 

1  Seated  in  Congress,  February  9,  1776,  John  Adams  writes: 

"Mr.  S Adams,  Mr.  Gerry,  and  myself  now  compose  a 

majority  of  the  Massachusetts  delegates;    we  're  no  longer 
vexed  or  enfeebled  by  divisions  among  ourselves,  or  by  inde 
cision  or  indolence." 

2  In  an  asylum  Paine  discovered  one  Ingraham  whom  he  had 
convicted  of  horse-stealing  in  Taunton. 

[247] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Coming  home,  Paine  left  the  other  delegates  at 
New  York,  took  a  sloop  to  Newport,  visited  Dr. 
Stiles,  to  whom  he  presented  the  Bill  of  Rights 
and  Grievances,  the  Transactions  of  Congress, 
the  Association  for  Commercial  War,  and  the 
addresses  to  the  English  Colonies  and  Canada. 
He  completed  the  journey  by  packet  to  Swansea, 
where  he  hired  a  boatman  to  row  him  to  Taunton. 
A  rousing  reception  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  wel 
comed  him  on  November  12,  1774. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress  met  in  May, 
1775.  Paine  set  out  April  24,  with  Richard 
Deane  as  "waiter."  To  show  the  patriotic  zeal 
of  Taunton,  a  troop  of  ten  horse  accompanied 
him  out  of  town  to  protect  him  until  he  joined 
the  hunted  Adams  and  Hancock  at  Worcester. 
The  party  entered  New  York  with  grand  escort. 
War  had  already  begun  at  Lexington  and  Con 
cord ;  Ticonderoga  had  been  captured  and  concili 
ation  defeated  in  Parliament,  though  advocated 
by  the  powerful  Chatham.  Congress  politely  ad 
dressed  a  communication  to  "His  most  excellent 
and  gracious  Majesty,"  but  constituents  at  home 
were  burning  King  George  in  effigy.  When  mes 
sengers  in  trepidation  brought  the  address  to  the 
King,  the  Earl  of  Chatham  bowed  so  low  in  pre 
senting  it  that  the  gentlemen-in-waiting  saw  his 
hooked  nose  between  his  legs.  George  III  with 
a  scowl  handed  the  missive  over  to  Lord  North 

[248] 


The  Continental  Congress 

and  the  screws  of  oppression  were  given  another 
turn.  Britain  was  not  only  fighting  with  her 
colonial  army,  but  was  preparing  a  fleet  to  beset 
the  coast  and  destroy  American  commerce. 
Congress  must  act  promptly  to  meet  attack  and 
invasion.  Washington  was  made  commander-in- 
chief  and  war  measures  at  large  were  adopted. 
In  the  selection  of  a  general,  Paine  did  not  agree 
with  John  Adams.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
he  had  his  friend,  Hancock,  in  mind  for  the  post, 
although  in  the  presence  of  Washington,  who  sat 
with  immovable  face,  in  military  uniform,  he 
suggested  that  his  college  friend,  Artemas  Ward, 
would  be  a  wise  selection.  When  Adams,  without 
warning,  nominated  Washington,  Paine  followed 
the  majority,  and  later  he  found  the  General  con 
venient  as  a  postman,  to  carry  letters  to  his  wife 
on  the  northward  journey. 

In  this  Second  Congress  Paine  was  recognized 
on  committees  for  fasting  and  prayer,  and  also 
for  securing  ammunition  and  providing  barracks 
for  cavalrymen.  He  was  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  to  devise  ways  to  introduce  the  manufac 
ture  of  saltpetre,  together  with  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  Franklin,  Philip  Schuyler,  and  Thomas 
Johnson.  Thus  he  rendered  valuable  service  in 
securing  gunpowder,  an  essential  agent  in  effect 
ing  American  independence.  Paine  wrote  from 
Philadelphia,  July  6,  1776: 

[  249  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


I  have  long  since  thought  that  the  manufacture 
of  arms  and  ammunition  was  an  essential  object 
of  attention  and  have  accordingly  applied  myself 
intensely  to  it. 

Again : 

America  can  never  support  her  freedom  until  we 
have  a  sufficient  supply  of  arms  of  all  species  among 
ourselves.1 

He  issued  a  circular  describing  the  manufacture  of 
gunpowder  and  went  about  the  country  seeking 
the  precious  article;  bearing  in  mind  that  only 
because  of  empty  powder-horns  were  the  farmers 
driven  back  from  Bunker  Hill.  After  Philadel 
phia  was  captured  and  its  powder  factories  lost, 
France  came  to  the  rescue.2 

1  In  a  letter  about  saltpetre,  he  says:  "It  must  afford  great 
satisfaction  to  every  town  in  the  United  Colonies  to  defeat  the 
evil  designs  of  their  enemies  in  any  respect;  and  it  will  gratify 
me  to  have  attempted  it,  though,  unfortunately  it  should  not 
succeed.    And  without  some  effort,  I  fear  it  will  e'er  long  be 
said,  that  we  have  become  slaves,  because  we  were  not  indus 
trious  enough  to  be  free." 

2  A  letter  written  to  Elbridge  Gerry  from  Philadelphia,  June 
10,  1775,  exhibits  Paine's  patriotism: 

MY   VERY    DEAR    SlR: 

I  cannot  express  to  you  the  surprise  and  uneasiness  I  received  on 
hearing  the  Congress  express  respecting  the  want  of  gunpowder;  it  was 
always  a  matter  that  lay  heavy  on  my  mind;  but  the  observation  I  made 
of  your  attention  to  it,  and  your  alertness  and  perseverance  in  every 
thing  you  undertake,  and  your  repeatedly  expressing  it  was  your  opinion 
that  we  had  probably  enough  for  this  summer's  campaign,  made  me  quite 
easy.  I  rely  upon  it  that  measures  are  taken  in  your  parts  of  the  conti 
nent  to  supply  this  defect.  The  design  of  your  express  will  be  zealously 

[    250  ] 


The  Continental  Congress 

A  committee  to  devise  a  plan  to  put  the  militia 
in  proper  state  for  the  defence  of  America  (ap 
pointed  June  24,  1775)  included  Paine,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Christopher  Gadsden, 
John  Dickinson,  and  William  Flynt.  On  July  19, 
1775,  Paine,  Lewis,  and  Middleton  were  made  a 
committee  to  establish  a  hospital.  Paine  returned 
home  in  August  and  immediately  rode  up  to  sur 
vey  Bunker  Hill. 

The  Third  Congress  met  September  5,  1775. 
Paine  did  not  go  on  with  the  Massachusetts  dele 
gation;  but  the  first  week  in  September,  Mrs. 
Paine  and  a  new  baby  were  doing  so  well  that 
the  Congressman  and  Richard  Deane,  his  valet, 
rode  away  again.  Paine  was  on  a  committee 

attended  to,  I  think.  I  have  seen  one  of  the  powder-mills  here,  where 
they  make  excellent  powder,  but  have  worked  up  all  the  nitre;  one  of  our 
members  is  concerned  in  a  powder-mill  at  New  York,  and  has  a  man  at 
work  making  nitre.  I  have  taken  pains  to  inquire  into  the  method.  Dr. 
Franklin  has  seen  saltpetre  works  at  Hanover  and  Paris;  and  it  strikes 
me  to  be  as  unnecessary,  after  a  certain  time,  to  send  abroad  for  gun 
powder,  as  for  bread;  provided  people  will  make  use  of  common  under 
standing  and  industry;  but  for  the  present  we  must  import  from  abroad. 
Major  Forster  told  me  at  Hartford,  he  suspected  he  had  some  land  that 
would  yield  nitre;  pray  converse  with  him  about  it.  Dr.  Franklin's 
account  is  much  the  same  as  is  mentioned  in  one  of  the  first  of  the 
American  magazines;  the  sweeping  of  the  streets,  and  rubbish  of  old 
buildings,  are  made  into  mortar,  and  built  into  walls,  exposed  to  the 
air,  and  once  in  about  two  months  scraped  and  lix-iv-i-a-t-ed,  and  eva 
porated;  when  I  can  describe  the  method  more  minutely,  I  will  write  you; 
meanwhile,  give  me  leave  to  condole  with  you  the  loss  of  Colonel  Lee. 
Pray  remember  me  to  Colonel  Orne,  and  all  other  our  worthy  friends. 
Pray  take  care  of  your  important  health,  that  you  may  be  able  to  stand 
stiff  as  a  pillar  in  our  new  government. 

I  must  now  subscribe  with  great  respect  and  affection, 
Your  humble  servant, 

R.  T.  PAINE. 

[251] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  visit  Canada  and  secure  cooperation  with  that 
colony,  if  possible,  and  to  make  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians.  Both  armies  were  eager  to  enlist 
Indians,  realizing  how  their  barbarities  would 
strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  enemy.  Wash 
ington,  who  knew  that  in  time  of  battle  Indians 
could  not  remain  neutral  (war  being  their  normal 
occupation),  especially  urged  that  treaties  be 
made  to  secure  them  to  the  Colonial  side.  Paine 
had  been  at  Crown  Point  in  1755,  and  accordingly 
was  put  on  the  committee  (November  i,  1775)  to 
repair  to  the  northward  and  confer  with  the  In 
dians.  Others  on  the  committee  were:  General 
Philip  Schuyler,  John  Langdon,  Robert  Living 
ston,  and  Eliphalet  Dyer.  One  thousand  dollars 
was  appropriated  for  the  excursion.  When  the 
council  of  Onondaga  Indians  met  the  commis 
sioners  at  Albany  in  December,  the  natives  gave 
each  of  the  white  men  a  name  in  their  own 
language.  Paine  was  christened  "Currensehee" 
(interpreted  as  "bearer  of  good  news"),  by  which 
we  may  infer  that  he  told  these  Indians  of  his 
life  in  their  country  on  the  Crown  Point  expedi 
tion. 

When  the  question  of  an  American  fleet  was 
under  discussion,  Paine  favored  postponing  the 
matter,  on  the  ground  that  the  "whole  continent 
would  be  mortgaged."  And  again,  he  did  not 
believe  that  the  quartermaster  should  keep  a 
[  252  ] 


The  Continental  Congress 

"slop-shop";  and  he  thought  Congress  should  not 
agree  to  clothe  the  soldiers,  but  leave  it  to  volun 
tary  private  donations. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  moved  for  a  Declaration 
of  Independence  on  June  7,  1776;  John  Adams 
immediately  and  heartily  seconded  the  motion. 
The  crowning  glory  of  Paine's  life  came  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  when  he  carved  his  name  on  the 
portals  of  History;  though  it  was  not  until  August 
2  that  he  appended  his  signature  to  the  immortal 
document  now  preserved. 

Paine  did  not  write  down  an  analysis  of  his  emo 
tions  on  this  occasion,  nor  state  what  flush  of 
high  ardor  came  to  him  on  that  summer  evening, 
as  he  pledged  his  life,  property,  and  good  name  for 
our  republic.1  He  merely  records  in  his  diary: 
"July  4,  1776.  Cool.  This  day  the  independence 
of  the  states  voted  and  declared."  One  point  is 
noteworthy  —  the  weather  was  cool.  We  know 
that  the  heat  of  early  summer  had  bred  an  in 
sufferable  swarm  of  flies  in  a  neighboring  stable 
which  hastened  the  signing  of  the  document. 

Of  the  fifty-six  signers  of  the  Declaration, 
thirty-four  were  Episcopalians;  twelve  were  Con- 
gregationalists;  five  or  six,  Presbyterians;  three, 

1  William  Ellery  said:  "I  was  determined  to  see  how  they  all 
looked  as  they  signed  what  might  be  their  death  warrant.  I 
placed  myself  beside  the  secretary,  Charles  Thomson,  and  eyed 
each  closely  as  he  affixed  his  name  to  the  document.  Undaunted 
resolution  was  displayed  in  every  countenance." 

[253] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Quakers;  one  a  Baptist;  one  a  Roman  Catholic. 
Of  the  Massachusetts  delegation,  Sam  Adams, 
John  Adams,  Paine,  and  Hancock  were  Con- 
gregationalists,  Elbridge  Gerry  an  Episcopalian. 
Thus,  two  thirds  of  those  who  pledged  their  lives 
as  godfathers  of  the  new  nation  belonged  to 
the  very  church  by  whose  dictatorial  tone  the 
American  people  had  been  offended.  A  contro 
versy  with  the  Church  of  England  had  created 
schism  in  many  places  and  aroused  violent  sec 
tarian  feeling.  Deists  and  Freethinkers  were  on 
the  side  of  liberty. 

The  founders  of  our  nation  did  not  incorporate 
any  religious  belief  in  their  political  documents.1 
Washington,  while  President,  said:  "The  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  is  not  in  any  sense 
founded  on  the  Christian  religion."  Thomas 
Paine  became  a  strong  influence  when  his  essay 
on  "Common  Sense"  came  out  in  1776;  and 
Robert  Treat  Paine  wrote,  July  6,  1776,  after 
signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  "There 
is  too  much  Calvinism  apparent." 

The  principles  of  the  founders  will  live  on,  but 
in  a  thousand  years,  newer  liberties  and  justice  un 
dreamed  of  in  our  philosophy  may  arrive.  Truth 
moves  forward  forever.  The  Declaration  was  but 

1  Writing  to  Benjamin  Kent,  John  Adams  said:  "I  hope 
Congress  will  never  meddle  with  religion  further  than  to  say 
their  own  prayers." 

[254] 


The  Continental  Congress 

a  single  milestone  in  the  never-ending  progress  of 
human  rights.  It  guarantees  to  every  one  the  op 
portunity  to  find  his  level  —  the  right  to  rise  above 
environment  —  or,  as  Lowell  puts  it,  to  be  his 
own  oppressor.  Under  it  every  man  is  King.  Its 
best  feature  is  its  affirmation  of  ideal  truths,  not 
the  list  of  grievances  against  George  III. 

A  year  before  Paine  put  his  name  to  this  man 
ifesto,  proclaiming  all  men  created  free  and  equal, 
he  had  been  the  owner  of  a  slave. 

This  letter  from  Paine,  written  in  the  Fall  of 
1776,  shows  how  his  time  was  occupied: 

Our  public  affairs  have  been  exceedingly  agitated 
since  I  wrote  you  last.  The  loss  of  Fort  Washington 
made  way  for  that  of  Fort  Lee;  and  the  dissolution 
of  our  army  happening  at  the  same  time,  threw  us 
into  a  most  disagreeable  situation.  The  intercep 
tion  of  an  express,  gave  the  enemy  full  assurance 
of  what  they  must  have  had  some  knowledge  of 
before,  the  state  of  our  army;  and  they  took  the 
advantage  of  it.  In  two  days  after  their  possession  of 
Fort  Lee,  on  the  2Oth  of  November,  where  we  lost 
much  baggage,  and  the  chief  of  our  battering  can 
non,  they  marched  to  the  Hackensack,  and  thence 
to  Newark,  driving  General  Washington  before 
them,  with  his  3000  men  —  thence  to  Elizabeth- 
town.  General  Washington  supposed,  from  the 
best  information  he  could  get,  that  they  were  10,000 
strong;  marching  with  a  large  body  of  horse  in  front 
and  a  very  large  train  of  artillery.  We  began  to  be 

[255] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


apprehensive  they  intended  for  Philadelphia,  and 
Congress  sat  all  Sunday  in  determining  proper 
measures  on  the  occasion.  I  cannot  describe  to  you 
the  situation  of  this  city.  The  prospect  was  really 
alarming.  We  could  not  calculate  on  a  force  suffi 
cient  to  defend  the  city  on  such  a  sudden  call.  Gen 
eral  Lee  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Hudson  River, 
and  no  hope  could  be  expected  from  Ticonderoga. 
But  to  work  we  went  —  the  associations  of  the  city 
were  drawn  forth,  and  about  3000  men,  with  some 
artillery,  marched.  The  country  associations  were 
called  upon,  but  there  was  no  expectation  of  immedi 
ate  relief  from  them.  As  the  week  advanced,  we 
had  repeated  advices  from  General  Washington,  of 
the  unopposed  approach  of  the  enemy,  headed  by 
General  Cornwallis.  On  Monday  we  were  informed 
that  they  had  arrived  at  Brunswick,  and  that 
Washington  was  retreating  to  the  west  side  of  the 
Delaware.  We  sent  many  Continental  stores  into 
the  country,  and  great  numbers  of  the  people  are 
moving.  The  shops  have  not  been  opened  since 
Sunday;  and  there  was  a  real  apprehension  that  we 
should  be  routed.  I  need  not  tell  you  what  our  cal 
culations  were  on  the  expectation  of  losing  this  city. 
I  had  called  in  my  accounts  and  prepared  matters 
for  a  regular  retreat:  But  on  Thursday  we  found  the 
enemy  had  not  crossed  the  Brunswick  River.  By 
an  officer  of  my  acquaintance,  who  went  with  a  flag 
to  the  enemy,  to  exchange  a  prisoner,  we  learned 
that  they  were  about  6000  strong;  and  were  sur 
prised  to  find  Newark  and  Elizabeth  town  evacuated 

[256] 


The  Continental  Congress 

by  its  inhabitants;  that  they  knew  the  state  of  our 
army,  which  induced  them  to  make  the  excursion. 
The  enemy  are  in  possession  of  a  large  part  of  New 
Jersey;  and  the  remaining  part  is  greatly  distressed 
by  their  approach.  But  I  hope  this  affair  will  rouse 
them  from  that  lethargy  which  occasioned  this 
excursion.  Had  their  militia  been  alert  and  resolute, 
and  given  General  Washington  the  support  they 
might  have  done,  these  events  had  not  happened; 
but  carelessness  and  apathy  have  been  the  lords  of 
our  ascendants  this  last  month.  It  is  to  no  purpose, 
however,  to  scold.  Let  us  carefully  ascertain  our 
past  errors,  and  amend  them.  Sunday,  8th :  Congress 
were  called  this  morning,  on  advice  that  General 
Howe  had  joined  General  Cornwallis  with  a  large 
reinforcement,  and  was  marching  to  Princeton.  This 
measure  induces  us  to  think,  that  the  expedition  is 
against  Philadelphia.  Monday,  9th :  Yesterday  Gen 
eral  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  the  enemy 
arrived  at  Trenton,  on  the  east  side,  thirty  miles  from 
this  place:  Close  quarters  for  Congress!  It  obliges 
us  to  move;  we  have  resolved  to  go  to  Baltimore. 

When  Lord  Howe  and  Cornwallis  moved  on 
Philadelphia  in  December,  1776,  and  Congress  in 
alarm  fled  to  Baltimore,  Paine  put  eight  bottles 
of  port  wine  in  his  stateroom  before  embarking; 
but  he  soon  changed  plans  and  started  for  home. 
While  crossing  the  North  River  Ferry  his  port 
manteau  went  overboard;  his  horse  died  en  route, 
but  he  secured  another,  put  his  chaise  on  runners; 
[257] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


dined  with  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut; 
and  reached  home  New  Year's  Eve,  1777. 

Paine  did  not  return  to  Philadelphia,  though 
elected  for  the  year  1777  (year  of  the  three  gib 
bets  the  British  soldiers  called  it).  He  was  en 
gaged  in  field  work  for  the  Congress;  this  letter 
to  Gerry  explains  his  whereabouts : 

BOSTON,  April  12,  1777. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  have  before  me,  your  kind  letter  of  February 
I4th,  and  have  delayed  writing  merely  because  I 
was  in  expectation  of  collecting  something  solid  and 
decisive  respecting  some  public  measures,  but  mat 
ters  seem  to  be  worrying  on  at  a  strange  rate;  the 
regulating  act,  though  framed  with  the  greatest 
care  and  good  intentions,  and  though  called  for  by 
almost  everybody,  is  now  reprobated  by  many  and 
obeyed  by  few.  Many  that  are  supposed  good  judges 
in  the  mercantile  way  tell  you,  "that  if  silver  and 
gold  were  passing  instead  of  paper,  the  prices  of 
goods  would  be  as  high,  and  that  nothing  but  reduc 
ing  the  glut  of  paper  currency  will  save  the  credit 
of  it."  No  doubt  goods  would  be  higher  in  war  than 
peace,  and  the  act  made  provision  for  that,  and 
meant  to  state  such  prices  as  silver  would  regulate 
in  time  of  such  war:  but  the  glut  of  money  is  hor 
rible.  Yet  while  I  lament  the  emission  of  such  quan 
tities,  I  can  but  recollect  the  occasion:  taxation 
should  have  begun  sooner,  loans  should  have  been 
coeval  with  the  emission:  but  unhappily,  govern- 


The  Continental  Congress 

ments  were  not  sufficiently  formed  nor  the  people 
prepared  in  all  of  them  for  the  former;  and  the  seat 
of  war  drawing  the  bulk  of  the  currency  with  it, 
made  loans  impracticable  and  disagreeable  in  other 
governments.  The  remedy  is  obvious:  particular 
governments  must  emit  no  more,  on  pain  of  censure. 
Rhode-Island  in  particular  must  be  watched  most 
narrowly,  or  she  will  drown  New-England  with 
paper,  and  then  suffer  individuals  to  do  all  in  their 
power  to  depreciate  it;  of  which  there  are  some 
shocking  instances.  We  have  begun  taxation  with 
an  assessment  of  £105,000;  and  such  has  been  the 
largeness  of  the  bounties  given  by  some  towns,  to 
raise  the  new  army,  as  to  equal  their  proportion  of 
the  public  tax;  which  altogether  falls  as  heavy  again 
on  individuals  as  it  did  last  war.  But  the  great  evil 
lays  here,  for  which  some  remedy  must  be  found: 
the  course  of  the  war  has  thrown  property  into  chan 
nels,  where  before  it  never  was,  and  has  increased 
little  streams  to  overflowing  rivers:  and  what  is 
worse,  in  some  respects,  by  a  method  that  has 
drained  the  sources  of  some  as  much  as  it  has  re 
plenished  others.  Rich  and  numerous  prizes,  and 
the  putting  six  or  seven  hundred  per  cent  on  goods 
bought  in  peace  time,  are  the  grand  engines.  Mon 
eys  in  large  sums,  thrown  into  their  hands  by  these 
means,  enables  them  to  roll  the  snow-ball  of  mono 
poly  and  forestalling;  and  thus  while  these  people 
are  heaping  up  wealth  and  (what  is  very  astonish 
ing)  doing  everything  to  depreciate  their  own  pro 
perty,  the  remaining  part  are  jogging  on  in  their  old 

[259] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


way,  with  few  or  no  advantages;  and  the  salary 
men  and  those  who  live  on  the  interest  of  their 
money  are  suffering  exceedingly.  Let  us  now  apply 
taxation  to  these  circumstances.  The  man  of  visible 
property  will  stand  highest  in  the  valuation.  It  is 
exceeding  hard  to  ascertain  stock  in  trade;  and  with 
many  of  these  people  large  sums  come  and  go 
lightly:  by  this  means  they  who  are  best  able  to  pay 
the  tax  and  circulate  the  money  back  to  the  foun 
tain  where  it  is  wanted,  escape  with  a  very  small 
proportion;  while  others  who  stand  high  in  the  valu 
ation  because  they  used  to  be  so,  are  called  upon  for 
sums  that  bear  hard  upon  their  abilities.  Cannot 
some  mode  be  hit  upon  to  draw  money  by  taxation 
from  those  who  are  really  the  possessors  of  it?  Might 
not  an  impost  on  privateers  or  their  prizes  be  so 
contrived  as  to  bring  large  sums  to  the  treasury 
without  discouraging  that  business?  Why  should 
one  part  of  the  community  reap  such  large  profits 
by  a  branch  of  business  licensed  by  Congress,  with 
out  contributing  their  proportion  towards  support 
ing  government?  It  will  eventually  be  serviceable 
to  them,  as  it  tends  to  secure  their  accumulated 
wealth  from  the  enemy  and  from  depreciation.  If 
the  southern  governments  say  they  are  not  ripe  for 
these  matters  or  do  not  need  them,  I  hope  they  will 
consent  to  some  useful  measures  for  regulating  mat 
ters  with  us.  The  lottery  tickets  came  at  last  and  sell 
rapidly;  and  I  think  the  sale  of  the  firct  class  will 
ensure  the  sale  of  all  the  others:  the  plan  is  very 
popular.  The  loan  tickets  sell  very  fast,  and  I 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL 
Philadelphia 


The  Continental  Congress 

please  myself  with  the  prospect  of  great  profit  from 
these  branches.  For  Heaven's  sake,  let  something  be 
set  a-going  before  these  are  exhausted.  There  must 
not  be  more  money  emitted,  and  all  the  colonial 
emissions  must  be  called  in  as  soon  as  possible. 

I  have  wrote  Mr.  Hancock  about  our  progress  in 
cannon-making.  They  make  good  iron  field-pieces 
at  Connecticut  and  at  Providence.  I  hear  Mr. 
S.  Adams  was  very  ill  at  Baltimore,  but  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  from  his  lady  the  other  day  that 
he  was  recovered.  My  compliments  to  both  the 
Mr.  Adams':  I  intended  to  have  wrote  them  on 
particular  subjects,  but  continual  avocations  render 
it  impracticable.  Pray  describe  to  me,  as  nearly  as 
you  may,  the  situation  of  your  affairs.  Without  any 
great  skill  in  astrology,  I  calculate  that  you  intend 
to  send  for  me  seasonably,  before  dog-days  come  on. 
I  hope  you  are  well  and  in  good  spirits.  Remember 
me  to  Mr.  Lovell.  I  wish  to  know  to  what  pitch  the 
price  of  living  and  expenses  have  arisen. 

The  House  have  passed  a  resolve  calling  upon 
towns  to  instruct  their  next  Representatives  to  con 
sult  and  form  government:  it  now  lays  at  the  board. 
The  smallpox  is  breaking  out  continually,  —  hos 
pitals  erecting  in  very  many  places.  There  are  so 
many  objects  of  importance  to  attend  to,  that  one 
may  well  say  in  a  political  sense,  the  harvest  is 
great,  but  the  laborers  are  few. 

I  am  your  friend  and  servant, 
R.  T.  PAINE. 


CHAPTER    XVI 
A  Tory  Absentee 

True  patriots  all,  for,  be  it  understood, 
We  left  our  country  for  our  country's  good. 

GEORGE  BARRINGTON. 

INITIATED  by  Hutchinson  and  Oliver,  an  act 
of  Parliament  in  1774  increased  the  number 
of  councillors  in  Massachusetts  from  twenty- 
eight  to  thirty-six.  They  were  not  elected  by  the 
General  Court  but  were  appointed  by  the  Crown 
to  inaugurate  the  new  Trade  Regulation  Acts,  and 
were  known  as  Mandamus  Councillors.  The  em 
ployment  of  leading  Tories  as  officials  unloosed 
popular  rage  against  those  "ministerial  tools"; 
the  thirty-six  councillors  named  in  the  King's 
writ  of  mandamus  became  at  once  objects  of 
persecution.  When  the  Scarborough  sailed  into 
Boston  Harbor,  early  in  August,  1774,  ft  brought 
the  appointment  of  Leonard  to  this  opprobrious 
office:  and  August  15,  he  was  officially  sworn  in. 
When  he  came  home  and  the  news  of  his  appoint 
ment  spread  through  the  neighboring  towns, 
a  thousand  or  more  Sons  of  Liberty  flocked  to 
Taunton  Green  and  waited  upon  Leonard,  re 
questing  him  to  recant  his  acceptance.  But  a  man 

[262] 


A  Tory  Absentee 


of  his  temperament  would  not  "swallow  the 
oath"  and  submit  to  the  humiliation  of  signing 
a  letter  of  resignation.  He  had  sworn  allegiance 
to  British  laws,  and  had  faith  in  the  power  of 
England  to  crush  a  rebellion  of  these  undisci 
plined  farmers.  Ephraim  Leonard  (though  at 
heart  he,  too,  had  Tory  leanings),  fearing  bodily 
injury  to  his  son,  tried  to  reason  with  the  throng 
and  promised  to  influence  Daniel  to  resign.  He 
pleaded  with  the  Whigs  of  whom  Nat  Leonard 
was  the  leader,  not  to  demolish  Daniel's  house.1 
The  savage  chief,  Philip,  a  hundred  years  earlier, 
was  so  attached  to  Leonard's  grandfather  that,  in 
his  mandate  for  killing  all  white  men,  he  excepted 
his  friend's  family;  but  when  the  incensed  neigh 
bors  and  kindred  of  Daniel  Leonard  found  him  in 
league  with  the  King's  tyrannical  representatives, 
they  were  ready  to  turn  and  rend  even  one  of 
their  own  flesh  and  blood.  Whatever  his  former 
services  had  been,  the  Patriots  ignored  them  all. 
Always  in  the  body  politic  is  an  element  in  which 
the  combativeness  of  primitive  man  is  uncon 
trolled  and  intemperate.  When  this  irresponsible 
element  finds  it  has  the  covert  sanction  of  law- 
abiding  citizens,  a  train  of  trouble  is  soon  ignited. 
As  soon  as  this  class  found  public  sentiment  against 
Leonard,  it  saw  a  chance  for  mischief.  The  mob 

1  A  mob  later  burned  Oliver  Hall  at  Middleboro,  and  carried 
away  choice  bits  of  furniture  and  plate  as  souvenirs. 

[263] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


marked  him  for  a  victim.1  He  was  threatened 
and  hooted  until  one  night,  foreseeing  an  outbreak, 
he  prudently  fled  to  Boston,  leaving,  like  M'Fin- 
gal,  "his  constituents  in  the  lurch."  The  next 
day  a  half-drunken  rabble,  not  content  to  hurl 
brickbats  at  the  house,  fired  bullets  after  nightfall 
into  his  lighted  window,  supposing  that  Deputy 
Sheriff  Williams  was  lodged  there.2 

The  startled  wife  and  new-born  son  remained 
in  Taunton  a  month;  then  one  morning  they  were 
taken  cautiously  through  the  back  garden  to  the 
Old  Bay  Road,  where  a  coach  was  waiting  in 
which  they  took  final  leave  of  Taunton. 

It  was  August  21,  1774,  that  Daniel  Leonard 
abandoned  his  home  at  Taunton  Green,  around 
which  clustered  his  early  hopes,  loves,  and  ambi 
tions;  a  spot  also  endeared  to  him  by  sorrow. 
Thenceforward,  in  the  language  of  the  law,  he 
was  an  "absentee."  Taine,  disregarding  the  law 
of  personal  choice,  says:  that,  given  the  race, 
place,  and  the  minute,  he  would  tell  what  a  per 
son  would  do  under  any  circumstance.  Could  he 
have  told  that  the  Yankee  Leonard,  coming  to  this 
cross-roads,  would  not  choose  to  ally  his  after 
life  with  his  countrymen  who  were  to  build  the 

1  The  mob  has  been  called  the  first-born  child  of  oppression; 
English  history  affords  some  startling  examples  of  mobs  that 
were  the  offspring  of  delusion. 

*  One  of  the  shutters,  showing  the  bullet  holes,  is  still  pre 
served  by  the  local  Historical  Society. 

[264] 


A  Tory  Absentee 


mightiest  nation  the  world  has  lately  seen,  but, 
turning  back  the  hands  of  the  clock,  would  return 
to  the  land  of  his  forefathers?  Let  us  speculate 
a  moment.  In  lieu  of  being  posted  on  the  Town- 
House  door  and  publicly  branded  as  an  enemy 
to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  United  Colo 
nies,  Daniel  Leonard,  with  other  advisers,  might 
have  been  the  Representative  of  the  Old  Colony 
in  Congress  instead  of  Paine.  Once  present 
among  those  assembled  statesmen, — Washington, 
Jefferson,  Franklin,  the  Adamses,  Morris,  Lee, 
Hancock,  Randolph,  Sherman,  Jay,  Livingston, 
—  his  recognized  abilities  might  have  lifted 
him  even  to  the  chair  later  occupied  by  John 
^.dams. 

At  first  the  Tories  sought  the  protection  of 
British  bayonets  in  Boston.  For  nearly  a  year  after 
the  nineteenth  of  April,  1775,  martial  law  pre 
vailed.  No  merchandise  was  carried  away;  passes 
were  required  in  and  out  of  the  lines;  letters  were 
opened  and  those  who  showed  inclination  to  re 
bellion  were  arrested  and  roughly  handled.  The 
refugees  talked  over  the  extremities  to  which 
they  were  driven;  how  they  were  insulted,  as 
sailed,  and  barely  escaped  with  their  lives,  or 
saved  their  houses  from  being  burned  and  their 
property  carried  away  by  the  insatiable  mob; 
and  how  even  the  Loyalist  ladies  were  pelted  and 
abused  with  indecent  billingsgate. 

[265] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  persecution  of  Tories  was  not  conducted 
haphazard  by  the  "mushrooms,"  as  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  were  derisively  called.  So  early  as  No 
vember,  1772,  Committees  of  Correspondence  had 
been  organized  throughout  Massachusetts,  and 
in  1773  they  were  also  formed  in  other  colo 
nies.  These  so  effectively  secured  unity  of  action 
that  France  afterward  imitated  the  scheme  in  her 
Revolution.  Adams  exclaimed  in  admiration, 
"What  an  engine!"  Leonard,  with  Tory  abhor 
rence,  pronounced  the  scheme  the  "foulest,  sub 
tlest,  and  most  venomous  serpent  ever  issued 
from  the  egg  of  sedition."  Paine  was  careful 
to  be  chosen  chairman  of  this  committee  in 
Taunton. 

Thomas  Paine,  in  his  "Common  Sense,"  thus 
characterizes  the  Tories: 

Interested  men  who  are  not  to  be  trusted;  weak 
men  who  cannot  see;  prejudiced  men  who  will  not 
see,  and  a  certain  set  of  moderate  men  who  think 
more  of  the  European  empire  than  it  deserves.  This 
last  class,  by  an  ill-judged  deliberation,  will  be  the 
cause  of  more  calamities  to  this  government  than 
all  the  other  three. 

Leonard  manifestly  belonged  to  the  fourth 
class.  With  King  George,  he  would  say:  "To  live 
and  die  an  Englishman  is  good  enough  for  me." 
He  had  read  how  Lord  Shelburne  predicted  that 
with  the  loss  of  the  American  Colonies  the  sun  of 

[266] 


A  Tory  Absentee 


England  would  set  and  her  glories  be  eclipsed  for 
ever.  The  rebels  were  mostly  of  the  middle  and 
lower  classes,  encouraged  by  a  knot  of  well-edu 
cated  gentlemen,  like  Paine.  In  New  England  the 
Church  of  England  as  a  body  stood  for  loyalty.  In 
the  sou  them  portion,  Plymouth  and  Newport  were 
Loyalist  strongholds.  In  Virginia,  the  imprudence 
of  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  alienated  the  class  to 
which  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  the  Anglican 
clergy  belonged,  but  most  of  those  who  resisted 
lawful  authority  had  little  to  lose. 

Secretive  "neutrals"  kept  their  places  and 
properties.  Some,  like  Ephraim  Leonard,  would 
at  a  later  day  have  been  called  "Copperheads." 
Their  coating  of  patriotism  sometimes  wore 
through,  revealing  inner  sentiments  that  endan 
gered  their  lives.  The  Conservatives  did  not  mas 
terfully  use  their  powers  of  public  leadership,  but 
stood  aloof.  A  few  of  the  younger  men  took  up 
arms  for  Britain;  in  the  whole  country  during 
the  eight  years  of  the  War,  some  20,000  Tories 
were  enrolled  with  the  British  troops.  In  a  meas 
ure  it  was  a  civil  feud.  The  bitter  animosity 
lasted  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation;  persons 
now  living  remember  how  female  descendants  of 
Tory  Gilbert  could  not  disguise  their  scorn  of  the 
United  States  upon  visiting  the  ancestral  home 
at  Berkley. 

Crown  officers,  the  "Stalwarts"  of  the  To 

[267] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


party,  considered  the  vengeance  of  their  King 
not  a  whit  more  severe  than  just.  Tories  were 
licensed  to  "prowl  for  their  own  living"  —  mak 
ing  forages  along  the  seaboard  in  sloops.  They 
held  that  American  farmers  ought  to  pursue  their 
private  interests,  improve  their  commerce,  and 
cultivate  their  farms,  but  leave  the  regulation  of 
the  State  to  others  more  competent.  In  the  face 
of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  Leonard  wrote : 

If  the  Egyptian  darkness  that  hovers  over  the 
land  could  be  dispersed,  people  might  see  George  III 
as  a  provident  father  of  all  his  people. 

Among  the  Tory  gentry  who,  against  their  will, 
took  up  a  residence  in  Boston  that  winter,  were 
Taunton  merchants,  —  Solomon  Smith,  William 
Borland,  Gideon  White,  Tom  Laughton,  and 
Seth  Williams.1  Another,  perhaps  more  distin 
guished,  friend  of  Leonard  was  Dr.  William  Mc- 
Kinstry,  who  established  himself  in  Boston,  and 
was  appointed  by  General  Gage  as  Surgeon-Gen 
eral  of  Hospitals.  Although  the  doctor  was  of 
high  character  and  much  esteemed,  yet  the  fact 
that  he  dressed  the  wounds  of  Colonel  Gilbert,  the 
Loyalist,  led  to  such  unpopularity  that  McKin- 
stry,  sensitive  and  feeble  in  health,  insured  him 
self  against  insult  by  retreat. 

1  From  Easton  came  Daniel  Williams;  from  Dighton,  Eben- 
ezer  Phillips;  from  Freetown  Lot  Strange,  Henry  Tisdale,  Sam 
uel  Gilbert. 

[268] 


A  Tory  Absentee 


Colonel  Gilbert,  of  Freetown,  was  a  strong  per 
sonality —  the  loyal  watch-dog  of  southern  Mas 
sachusetts.  At  the  request  of  General  Gage,  he 
mustered  300  volunteers  to  overawe  the  Patriots. 
His  forces  were  nicknamed  "Gilbert's  Banditti." 
The  Sons  of  Liberty  thought  that  his  sentiments 
did  not  agree  with  the  name  of  his  town,  and  waited 
upon  him  to  expostulate,  after  his  followers  had 
cut  down  the  Liberty  Pole  at  Berkley.  The 
intended  surprise  was  thwarted  by  a  slave  at 
work  in  the  flax-field,  who  ran  to  his  master. 
Gilbert  hurried  into  the  house  and  bade  his  serv 
ants  make  a  great  clash  and  jangle  with  iron 
chains,  as  if  his  house  were  full  of  armed  soldiers, 
while  he  got  out  of  a  rear  window  and  escaped 
through  the  woods  to  a  British  frigate  at  Newport.1 
Gilbert  died  in  Nova  Scotia  aged  eighty-two. 
After  the  family  were  expatriated,  the  occupant 
of  the  Gilbert  house  in  Berkley  dreamed  one 

1  The  Provincial  Congress  in  April,  1775,  unanimously 
declared  that  "Colonel  Thomas  Gilbert  is  an  inveterate  enemy 
to  his  country,  to  reason,  to  justice,  and  the  common  rights  of 
mankind";  and  that  "whoever  had  knowingly  espoused  his 
cause,  or  taken  up  arms  for  its  support,  does,  in  common  with 
himself,  deserve  to  be  instantly  cut  off  from  the  benefit  of  com 
merce  with,  or  countenance  of,  any  friend  of  virtue,  America, 
or  the  human  race."  Gilbert  repaid  the  General  Court  in  kind. 
He  wrote  to  his  sons  from  Boston:  "Dear  Sons,  if  these  wicked 
sinners,  the  Rebels,  entice  you,  believe  them  not.  They  are 
more  savage  and  cruel  than  heathens,  or  any  other  creatures, 
and,  it  is  generally  thought,  than  devils." 

[269] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


night  of  hidden  treasure.  He  arose  in  the  morning 
and  dug  out  of  the  cellar  a  couple  of  hinds-foot 
spoons  that  had  been  buried  for  fear  of  loot  by 
the  visiting  posse. 

Another  eminent  refugee  and  friend  of  Leonard 
was  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  scholar,  physician, 
poet,  and  quondam  patriot,  who  wrote  elaborate 
verses  and  epitaphs  for  his  friends,  and  built  a 
pleasant  summer  home  at  Nippenicket,  which  put 
him  so  in  debt  that  he  abandoned  it  to  the  Whigs. 
He  conveyed  news  to  General  Gage  for  money; 
was  convicted,  banished,  and  lost  at  sea  with  his 
family  in  1776. 

George  Leonard,  a  cousin,  became  a  zealous 
Tory,  took  command  of  a  loyal  regiment  and 
finally  retired  to  Nova  Scotia. 

A  number  of  these  "High  Tories"  dwelt  at  the 
head  of  Quaker  Lane  in  Boston.  Shopkeepers 
along  this  lane  kept  bells  on  their  doors,  and  when 
one  of  the  Tories  was  observed  passing  by,  the 
signal  was  given  by  ringing  a  bell,  which  was 
repeated  down  the  line,  and  thus  they  were  com 
plimented  until  out  of  sight. 

Even  within  the  British  lines,  Leonard  was  not 
exempt  from  annoyance,  and  at  night  a  sentry 
slept  in  his  house  for  protection.  Perhaps  in  this 
way  smallpox  entered  his  family,  for  conflict 
between  the  townspeople  and  the  soldiers  had 
spread  that  disease  from  the  unsanitary  British 
[  270  ] 


A  Tory  Absentee 


barracks.  Leonard  writes  that  his  whole  family 
were  then  inoculated.  We  can  picture  them  in 
their  distress  at  the  Boston  pest-house,  when  that 
old  joker,  Rev.  Mather  Byles  (whose  son  had 
performed  Leonard's  marriage  ceremony),  used  to 
enter  the  hospital,  stretching  his  arms  in  mock 
priestly  benison,  and  dryly  remarking:  "Pox 
take  'em."1 

Fear  of  indignities,  and  even  of  death,  kept 
Leonard  a  prisoner  in  this  little  peninsula  of 
Boston  a  year  and  a  half.  Provisions  were  dear, 
and  Colonel  Ephraim  Leonard,  from  time  to 
time,  drove  up  to  Roxbury  carrying  a  leg  of  mut 
ton  or  a  side  of  veal  for  Daniel,  but  did  not  secure 
a  pass  to  enter  the  town  from  dread  that  he  would 
bring  away  varioloid  infection.  General  Gage 
wrote  home  to  his  friends  that  he  saw  the  roast 
beef  of  Old  England  only  in  his  dreams;  and  the 
Patriots  smiled  to  think  of  the  town  bull  (aged 
twenty)  served  as  the  piece  de  resistance  at  an 
English  nobleman's  dinner-table.  Hunger  came 
so  close  that  rats,  reading  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall,  began  to  move  out  of  town.  Business  was 
practically  at  a  standstill.  The  poor  of  Boston 
were  set  to  paving  streets;  asking  for  bread,  they 
were  given  a  stone.  The  inhabitants  burned  torn- 
down  fences,  houses,  and  even  churches  for  fuel. 
British  ships  supplied  the  Mandamus  Councillors 

1  Pax  tecum. 

[271  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


with  coal  and  provisions  in  preference  to  other 
Bostonians.1 

To  such  dire  straits  did  they  at  length  subside, 
"Hell,  Hull  or  Halifax  could  be  no  worse,"  they  cried. 

Leonard's  income  from  law  practice  was  now 
cut  off.  Obliged  to  borrow  from  old  friends  and 
relatives  to  maintain  his  uncomfortable  existence, 
he  sought  a  position  in  keeping  with  his  legal 
ability.  When  David  Lisle,  Solicitor  to  the  Com 
missioner  of  Customs  for  Boston,  died  in  Feb 
ruary,  1775,  Leonard  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
He  held  the  place  as  a  sinecure,  the  hostilities 
curtailing  its  former  duties.  What  was  most  im 
portant,  he  drew  the  salary  of  £360  long  after 
the  authority  of  that  board  ended.  The  com 
missioners  were  practically  a  Court  of  Admiralty 
in  Boston,  which,  before  the  disturbances,  had 
been  the  largest  port  of  entry  in  America,  and 
Leonard  was  their  counsel.  He  found  leisure  to 
frequent  the  Royal  Exchange  and  Green  Dragon 
Taverns.  The  summer  of  1775  was  a  lively  one  for 
the  shut-in  town  of  Boston.  Major-Generals  Howe, 
Clinton,  and  Burgoyne  had  come  with  their 

1  Burns  was  satirizing  the  situation  among  his  roystering  toss 
pots  in  the  tavern  of  Ayr,  in  such  jargon  as  this: 

"Poor  Tammy  Gage  within  a  cage 
Was  kept  at  Boston  ha*  man, 
Till  Willie  Howe  took  o'er  the  knowe 
For  Philadelphia,  Man." 

[  272  1 


A  Tory  Absentee 


regiments;  the  active  rebels  had  been  forced  to 
outlying  towns,  a  few  citizens  withdrawing  to 
Taunton.  There  were  about  20,000  people  in 
Boston,  of  whom  13,000  were  soldiers.  The  social 
life  was  military.  Earl  Percy  and  the  Province 
House  maintained  as  sumptuous  dinner  tables  as 
the  limited  Boston  larders  could  afford.  The  elite 
of  New  England  were  represented  in  this  com 
munity  by  the  Vassalls,  Lees,  Olivers,  Hutchin- 
sons,  Brattles,  Brownes,  Hallowells,  to  mention 
but  a  few.  Leonard  listened  to  stories  of  over-sea 
life  and  the  tremendous  power  of  Great  Britain; 
laughing  to  think  the  provincial  yeomanry  should 
presume  to  defy  the  well-disciplined  royal  troops. 
There  were  daily  parades  on  the  Common,  in 
tended  to  overawe  the  Yankee  farmers. 

Then  one  still  June  morning,  the  town  wras 
awakened  by  the  booming  of  cannon  from  the 
Somerset  (anchored  in  the  Back  Bay  where  Bea 
con  Street  now  lies),  to  find  that  breastworks 
had  been  suddenly  erected  during  the  night  on 
Breed's  Hill,  in  Charlestown.  There  was  imme 
diate  activity  among  the  soldiery  to  clear  away 
the  redoubt.  Cannon  were  hastily  mounted  above 
the  graves  of  the  Mathers  on  Copp's  Hill,  and  troops 
transported  to  Charlestown.  Dr.  McKinstry  had 
arranged  a  Sunday  dinner-party,  but  the  guests 
left  his  table  to  take  part  in  the  assault.  Let  us 
picture  Colonel  Leonard  at  this  party  among 

[273] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


those  who  ascend  to  the  roof  of  the  house  to 
watch  the  near-by  battle,  which  was  a  Pyrrhic  vic 
tory  for  the  redcoats.  As  Leonard  descends  the 
stairs,  after  seeing  Lord  Howe  and  his  troops 
twice  repulsed  by  those  despised  provincial 
farmers,  we  imagine  a  new  look  in  his  face  — 
something  coming  home  to  him  about  a  struggle 
that  might  change  the  whole  current  of  his  life. 
The  determination  of  those  stout-hearted  farm 
ers,  standing  their  ground  against  skilled  troops, 
gives  warning  of  his  impending  doom.  He  re 
members  what  he  had  written  about  raw  Pro 
vincials  resisting  His  Majesty's  Regulars. 

After  nearly  two  years  in  Boston,  Leonard  was 
once  more  ousted  by  the  aggressive  Patriots,  and 
now  must  flee  the  country.  When  the  British 
position  became  untenable,  the  Leonard  family 
and  other  Loyalists  sailed  out  of  Boston  Bay 
with  the  King's  troops,  March  17, 1776,  and  left 
stuffed  dummies  on  Bunker  Hill,  bearing  in  their 
fingers  of  hay  the  message,  "Welcome,  Brother 
Jonathan!"  Leonard  took  his  household  goods 
along  and  planned  for  a  protracted  vacation.  In 
his  house  in  Queen  Street1  the  only  remaining 
articles  of  value  found  by  the  confiscating  agents 
were  a  fish-kettle,  set  of  bed  posts,  some  curtain 
rods,  and  a  case  of  empty  bottles. 

The  20,000  Tories  who  fled  from  America  dur- 
1  Now  Court  Street. 

[274] 


>. 

K 


_ 


T^mf-  JJi'Mh' 


A  Tory  Absentee 


ing  the  Revolution  contribute  a  notable  instance 
of  the  unstability  of  mankind.  The  Israelites  go 
ing  down  into  Egypt,  the  equinoctial  migrations 
of  Indians,  Vandals  descending  on  Rome,  the 
Mohammedan  pilgrimages  to  Mecca,  Crusaders 
in  quest  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  Moors  expelled 
from  Spain,  Pilgrims  leaving  England,  Hugue 
nots  exiled  from  France,  Napoleon's  retreat  from 
Moscow,  dispersion  of  our  Acadians,  the  Mormon 
hegira  to  Salt  Lake  City,  Argonauts  of  '49  —  to 
such  historic  movements  of  the  human  family 
must  be  added  that  refluent  tide  of  exiled  Tories. 
Thereafter  New  England  was  under  control  of  the 
Whigs.  The  fragments  of  the  American  Tory 
party  wandered  in  exile,  became  English  pen 
sioners  or  received  grants  of  land  in  colonial  sub 
servience  —  some  in  Europe,  some  in  Halifax, 
Canada,  New  Brunswick,  Barbadoes,  Bermuda, 
and  St.  Augustine.1 

1  General  Washington  wrote  thus  to  his  half  brother,  upon 
this  occasion:  "All  those  who  took  upon  themselves  the  style 
and  title  of  Government  men  in  Boston,  in  short,  all  those  who 
have  acted  an  unfriendly  part  in  this  great  contest,  have  shipped 
themselves  off  in  the  same  hurry,  but  under  still  greater  disad 
vantage  than  the  King's  Troops,  being  obliged  to  man  their 
own  vessels  (as  seamen  enough  could  not  be  had  for  the  King's 
transports)  and  submit  to  every  hardship  that  can  be  conceived. 
One  or  two  have  done  what  a  great  number  ought  to  have  done 
long  ago,  committed  suicide.  By  all  accounts  there  never  was 
exhibited  a  more  miserable  set  of  beings  than  those  wretched 

[275] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Paine  wrote  from  Philadelphia  after  the  siege 
of  Boston,  asking  particularly  about  the  conduct 
of  the  Tories,  and  what  damage  had  been  done 
to  the  town  of  his  birth.  "Tell  me  who  of  the 
Tories  are  left  behind,  how  they  behave,  and  what 
they  say  for  themselves."  Then  he  adds,  "Have 
they  carried  off  the  lifeless  carcass  of  the  charter, 
as  one  of  their  party  that  was  slain,  or  have  they 
left  it  putrefying  to  contaminate  the  air?" 

When  the  royal  fleet  was  off  Provincetown,  they 
fired  salutes  and  separated,  part  of  them,  carrying 
the  troops,  turning  southward  for  New  York,  and 
the  remainder  bearing  the  Loyalists,  who  them 
selves  made  up  the  crews,  steering  eastward  for 
Halifax.  Among  them  we  wave  adieu  to  Leonard, 
wrapped  in  his  heavy  cloak  against  the  blustering 
winds  of  March,  as  he  paces  the  deck  of  the  out 
going  vessel,  and  sees  the  well-loved  hills  of  Mass 
achusetts  fade  into  purple  shadows  in  the  mist 
thickening  to  westward.  Are  his  thoughts  bitter 
against  fate  and  his  old  friends  and  neighbors? 
Does  he  realize  that  it  will  be  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury  before  he  sees  these  hills  again,  and  that 
nevermore  will  he  be  an  American  citizen  ? 


CHAPTER  XVII 
The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

Dare  to  have  a  purpose  firm, 
Dare  to  make  it  known! 

P.  P.  BLISS. 

WHILE  Leonard  was  at  college,  the  rising 
conflict  between  Liberty  and  Preroga 
tive  and  their  theoretical  bearing  upon 
life  were  much  discussed,  and  the  senior  sophister 
had  written  theses  on  a  subject  which  he  was  not 
old  enough  to  comprehend.  In  1766,  as  a  member 
of  a  club  of  young  lawyers,  which  included  John 
Lowell,  Elisha  Hutchinson,  Frank  Dana,  Josiah 
Quincy,  and  other  college  mates,  he  prepared  ar 
guments  for  and  against  the  right  of  Parliament 
to  tax  the  colonies  —  whether  the  subject  could 
be  taxed  without  his  consent  in  person  or  by  re 
presentative;  whether  Americans  should  be  re 
presented   in   Parliament,    and   such   problems. 
With  John  Adams,  he  had  puzzled  his  head  on 
many  committees  of  the  General  Court  over  the 
burning  questions  of  the  day.    The  intellectual 
strength  of  the  colonies  was  expressing  itself  in 
political  broadsides,  pamphlets,  epigrams ;  so  these 
two  young  men  sharpened  their  quills  and  wrote 

[277] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


for  the  press  over  assumed  names  (to  avoid  as 
sault)  at  a  time  when  newspapers  were  chiefly 
filled  with  voluntary  contributions.  In  the  discus 
sions  at  the  club  of  Boston  barristers,  each  had 
evolved  an  individual  style,  and  could  express  his 
thoughts  with  some  clearness,  force,  and  elegance. 
In  1774,  therefore,  they  were  prepared  for  the 
fusillade  of  arguments  betwixt  Whig  and  Tory.  As 
human  affairs  turn  out,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
the  two  comrades  pitted  against  each  other  on  the 
eve  of  the  Revolution. 

When  Leonard  found  himself  confined  within 
the  Patriot  lines  at  Boston,  in  his  bitterness  at 
outrageous  treatment  he  stoutly  defended  his 
position  in  the  "Massachusetts  Gazette,"  in  pap 
ers  signed  "Massachusettensis."  J  These  papers 
were  at  first  attributed  to  Jonathan  Sewall,  but 
afterwards,  an  exiled  Tory,  Ward  Chipman, 
acknowledged  that  he,  a  young  law-student, 
copied  them  for  Leonard  in  Boston  during  the 
siege.  John  Adams  eventually  credited  them  to 

1  Sewall  disguised  himself  as  "Philanthrop,"  and  it  is  not 
strange  to  see  Leonard  Latinizing  the  name  of  Massachusetts. 
It  was  a  day  of  pseudonyms,  but  not  of  "gentle  reader,"  or 
"old  subscriber,"  or  "interested  citizen."  The  classic  taste 
is  evidenced  in  such  signatures  as  "Tacitus,"  "Pro  Bono 
Publico,"  "Tranquilla,"  "Rusticus,"  "Candidus,"  "Solon," 
"Plain  Heart,"  "Vox  Vociferus  in  Eremo,"  "Aquilla,"  and 
"  Amicus."  Other  Tory  writers  of  Massachusetts  who  appeared 
under  fanciful  pseudonyms  were  Jonathan  Sewall,  Lt.-Governor 
Oliver,  Samuel  Waterhouse,  Joseph  Green,  and  John  Mein. 

[278] 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

Leonard.  Benjamin  Hallowell,  introducing  Leon 
ard  to  Court  authorities  in  London,  says  he  had 
great  merit  as  a  writer. l 

Dickinson,  the  "  Westchester  Farmer,"  had  al 
ready  published  Tory  articles  for  the  Middle  Col 
onies,  to  which  young  Alexander  Hamilton  was 
replying  with  spirit.  In  New  England,  good  re 
plies  to  "Massachusettensis"  were  demanded. 
John  Adams,  coming  home  from  Congress,  said 
of  Leonard's  papers, — 

"  they  shone  like  the  moon  among  the  lesser  stars, 
were  well  written,  abounded  in  wit,  proved  good  in 
every  way,  and  were  conducted  with  a  subtlety, 
art,  and  address,  wonderfully  calculated  to  keep  up 
the  spirit  of  the  party,  to  spread  intimidation,  and 
to  make  proselytes  among  those  whose  principles 
and  judgment  gave  way  to  their  fears.  As  week  after 
week  went  by,  the  papers  made  an  indelible  impres 
sion  on  many  minds.  No  answer  appeared  and  I 
began  to  think  seriously  of  the  consequences,  and 
concluded  to  write  in  reply." 

Thus  "Novanglus"  undertook  to  counteract 
"Massachusettensis,"  until  an  appeal  was  taken 
from  the  pen  to  the  harsher  court  of  the  sword. 

1  It  seems  remarkable  that  Leonard  did  not  himself  mention 
having  written  these  papers,  in  his  petition  to  the  Crown  for 
relief.  In  the  Boston  Public  Library  are  listed,  under  Leonard's 
name,  papers  signed  "Massachusettensis,"  written  by  a  Tory 
as  strictures  against  the  administrations  of  Jefferson  and  Wash 
ington. 

[279] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  papers  of  Adams  abound  in  fine  phrases, 
frequent  quotations,  illustrations,  and  legal  cita 
tions,  and  contend  that  Parliament  has  no  author 
ity  over  the  colonies  except  by  their  consent,  as 
provided  in  their  charters.  Massachusettensis 
befriends  the  much-abused  King,  upholds  British 
authority  to  regulate  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
colonies,  and  maintains  that  there  is  no  ground 
for  constitutional  resistance,  since  the  acts  of 
Parliament  affect  them  no  differently  from  other 
subjects  within  the  three  kingdoms.1  We  may 
admit  that,  while  the  articles  are  a  trifle  pictur 
esque  and  exuberant,  they  give  evidence  of  high 
culture,  strong  feeling,  good  reasoning,  and  literary 
power,  although  Stephen  Higginson,  a  Boston 
merchant,  writing  the  "Laco  Letters"  in  flagella 
tion  of  John  Hancock,  says:  "Hancock  had  not, 
in  fact,  any  more  efficiency  than  the  pen  of 
the  writer  under  the  signature  of  'Massachu 
settensis."  There  are  figures  of  speech  in  these 
letters  which  remind  one  of  Leonard,  the  boy, 
at  Norton.  The  Whigs  endeavored  to  gild  over 
their  resolves  against  Parliament  by  professions 
of  loyalty  to  the  King,  but  Leonard  sneered  — 
"The  golden  leaf  is  too  thin  to  conceal  the  trea 
son."  By  his  acquaintance  with  Hutchinson  and 

1  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell,  in  "Hugh  Wynne,"  unwarrantedly 
alludes  to  Leonard  as  the  "foul-mouthed  pamphleteer  of  Mass 
achusetts." 

1 2801 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

other  Royalists  most  learned  in  legislative  and 
constitutional  law,  he  had  absorbed  the  know 
ledge  he  required  to  write  these  papers.  They 
spun  a  web  of  plausible  argument  in  defence  of 
the  Crown,  and  spread  alarm  among  the  Patriots. 
Leonard,  who  had  felt  the  fury  of  the  mob, 
showed  his  contempt  for  the  methods  and  tricks 
by  which  people  are  led  into  violent  action.  "  Popu 
lar  demagogues,"  he  says,  "always  call  themselves 
the  people,  and  when  their  own  measures  are 
censured,  cry,  'The  people,  the  people  are  abused 
and  insulted.'  There  is  a  propensity  in  men  to 
believe  themselves  injured  and  oppressed,  when 
ever  they  are  told  so."  l 

1  An  American  historian  thus  sums  up  Leonard's  argument: 

His  great  business,  therefore,  was  to  convince  them  that  they  had 
been  misinformed,  that  they  were  misled;  that  they  were  rushing  on 
ward  under  a  frightful  error  and  delusion;  that  the  government  had  not 
overstepped  its  limits;  that  though  some  of  its  recent  acts  may  have 
been  bad  in  policy,  not  one  of  them  was  unconstitutional;  that  these 
acts  contained  no  menace  to  the  political  safety,  dignity,  or  happiness 
of  the  American  colonists;  that  everything  of  value  to  them  in  character, 
duty,  property,  and  life  itself,  was  involved  in  their  speedily  discovering 
their  mistake,  casting  off  the  sophists  and  demagogues  who  had  beguiled 
them,  and  becoming  once  more  good  subjects  of  the  just  and  splendid 
empire  within  which  lay  all  their  hopes  for  prosperity  and  happiness. 
Accordingly,  so  distributing  these  various  topics  as  to  mingle  history, 
anecdote,  warning,  sympathy,  sarcasm,  invective,  with  acute  discus 
sions  of  constitutional  law,  of  equity,  of  the  higher  aspects  of  policy, 
he  shows  great  skill  in  knocking  away,  or  in  seeming  to  knock  away, 
piece  by  piece,  the  argumentative  structure  under  cover  of  which  the 
Revolutionary  agitators  had  succeeded  in  drawing  a  loyal  and  a  log 
ical  people  into  courses  of  action  both  disloyal  and  dangerous.  That 
the  authority  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  is  and  must  be  coextensive 
with  the  empire  itself;  that  its  authority  in  the  American  colonies  is  not 
invalidated  by  the  circumstance  that  distance  from  the  capital  renders 
it  impracticable  for  them  to  send  members  to  Parliament;  that  no 

[281  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


A  young  man,  John  Trumbull,  whom  Leonard 
had  seen  while  at  Yale,  was  studying  law  in  Bos 
ton  in  the  office  of  John  Adams,  where  Leonard 
was  often  a  visitor.  Trumbull  in  "M'Fingal" 
shows  keen  insight  into  Leonard's  character. 
He  writes : 

Did  not  our  Massachusettensis 

For  your  conviction  strain  his  senses 

Show  clear  as  sun  in  noonday  heavens 
You  did  not  feel  a  single  grievance, 
Demonstrate  all  your  opposition 
Sprung  from  the  seed  of  foul  sedition. 

This  alludes  to  a  paragraph  in  one  of  the  "Massa 
chusettensis"  papers: 

I  saw  the  small  grain  of  sedition  when  it  was 
planted ;  it  was  as  a  grain  of  mustard.  I  have  watched 
the  plant  until  it  has  become  a  giant  tree;  the  vilest 

recent  assertion  of  the  taxing  power  of  Parliament  is  new  —  is,  in  fact, 
anything  but  what  has  been  peacefully  exercised  and  safely  granted 
from  the  beginning;  that  such  taxation  is  contained  in  the  very  terms 
of  the  original  settlement  of  the  colonies;  that  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
supremacy  of  Parliament,  according  to  the  British  constitution,  is 
wrapped  up  our  priceless  claim  to  all  the  great  rights  and  privileges  of 
British  subjects  under  that  constitution  —  the  rejection  of  the  former 
carrying  with  it  the  destruction  of  the  latter;  that  no  American  peti 
tions  to  the  Imperial  Government  have  ever  yet  been  rejected,  except 
ing  such  as  were  so  framed  as  to  compel  their  rejection  on  the  part  of 
any  government  that  had  the  least  respect  either  for  the  constitution  or 
for  itself;  that  what  are  called  American  grievances  are  largely  imagin 
ary, —  are  charges  trumped  up  by  demagogues  and  conspirators  as  their 
stock  in  trade  while  fattening  upon  the  generous  confidence  of  a  people, 
noble-minded  but  misinformed,  and  rushing  toward  misery  and  ruin, 
—  such  are  the  matters  principally  dealt  with  by  this  consummate 
debater. 

[282] 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

reptiles  that  crawl  upon  the  earth  are  concealed  at 
the  root,  the  foulest  birds  of  the  air  rest  on  its 
branches.  I  never  would  induce  you  to  go  to  work 
and  cut  it  down,  for  twofold  reasons;  because  it  is 
a  pest  to  society  and  lest  it  be  felled  suddenly  by 
a  stronger  arm  and  crush  its  thousands  in  its  fall. 

Between  November,  1774,  and  April,  1775, 
seventeen  of  Leonard's  letters  were  published  in 
several  editions,  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  as  the 
best  Tory  argument  written  in  America.1  They 
were  the  final  desperate  effort  of  the  New  England 
Tories  to  write  down  the  Revolution.  Like  Paine's 
argument  on  the  Boston  Massacre,  they  seem  too 
heavy  and  academic  to  be  read  much  now  ex 
cept  by  the  student  engaged  in  special  research,  for 
whose  benefit  the  first  of  the  papers  is  given  in  full. 

A   LETTER 

Addressed 

To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  December  12,  1774 

My  dear  countrymen, 

WHEN  a  people,  by  what  means  soever,  are  re 
duced  to  such  a  situation,  that  every  thing  they 

1  An  edition  published  at  London  in  1776  was  advertised  as 
"a  series  of  letters  containing  a  faithful  state  of  many  important 
and  striking  facts  which  laid  the  foundations  of  the  present 
troubles  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  By  a  person 
of  honor  on  the  spot." 

[283] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


hold  dear,  as  men  and  citizens,  is  at  stake,  it  is  not 
only  excuseable,  but  even  praiseworthy  for  an  in 
dividual  to  offer  to  the  public  any  thing  that  he  may 
think  has  a  tendency  to  ward  off  the  impending 
danger;  nor  should  he  be  restrained  from  an  appre 
hension  that  what  he  may  offer  will  be  unpopular, 
any  more  than  a  physician  should  be  restrained  from 
prescribing  a  salutary  medicine,  through  fear  it 
might  be  unpalatable  to  his  patient. 

The  press,  when  open  to  all  parties  and  influenced 
by  none,  is  a  salutary  engine  in  a  free  state,  perhaps 
a  necessary  one  to  preserve  the  freedom  of  that  state; 
but,  when  a  party  has  gained  the  ascendancy  so  far 
as  to  become  the  licensers  of  the  press,  either  by  an 
act  of  government,  or  by  playing  off  the  resentment 
of  the  populace  against  printers  and  authors,  the 
press  itself  becomes  an  engine  of  oppression  or  li 
centiousness,  and  is  as  pernicious  to  society,  as  other 
wise  it  would  be  beneficial.  It  is  too  true  to  be  denied, 
that  ever  since  the  origin  of  our  controversy  with 
Great  Britain  the  press,  in  this  town,  has  been  much 
devoted  to  the  partizans  of  liberty;  they  have  been 
indulged  in  publishing  what  they  pleased,  fas  vel 
nefas,  while  little  has  been  published  on  the  part 
of  Government.  The  effect  this  must  have  had 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  in  general  is  obvious; 
they  must  have  formed  their  opinion  upon  a  partial 
view  of  the  subject,  and  of  course  it  must  have  been 
in  some  degree  erroneous.  In  short,  the  changes 
have  been  rung  so  often  upon  oppression,  tyranny, 
and  slavery,  that,  whether  sleeping  or  waking,  they 

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The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

are  continually  vibrating  in  our  ears;  and  it  is  now 
high  time  to  ask  ourselves,  whether  we  have  not 
been  deluded  by  sound  only. 

My  dear  countrymen,  let  us  divest  ourselves  of 
prejudice,  take  a  view  of  our  present  wretched  situa 
tion,  contrast  it  with  our  former  happy  one,  care 
fully  investigate  the  cause,  and  industriously  seek 
some  means  to  escape  the  evils  we  now  feel,  and 
prevent  those  that  we  have  reason  to  expect. 

We  have  been  so  long  advancing  to  our  present 
state,  and  by  such  graduations,  that  perhaps  many 
of  us  are  insensible  of  our  true  state  and  real  danger. 
Should  you  be  told  that  acts  of  high  treason  are 
flagrant  through  the  country,  that  a  great  part  of 
the  province  is  in  actual  rebellion,  would  you  believe 
it  true?  Should  you  not  deem  the  person  asserting 
it,  an  enemy  to  the  province?  Nay,  should  you  not 
spurn  him  from  you  with  indignation?  Be  calm, 
my  friends;  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  worst  of  a 
disease,  to  enable  us  to  provide  an  effectual  remedy. 
Are  not  the  bands  of  society  cut  asunder,  and  the 
sanctions  that  hold  man  to  man,  trampled  upon? 
Can  any  of  us  recover  a  debt,  or  obtain  compensation 
for  an  injury,  by  law?  Are  not  many  persons,  whom 
once  we  respected  and  revered,  driven  from  their 
homes  and  families  and  forced  to  fly  to  the  army  for 
protection,  for  no  other  reason  but  their  having  ac 
cepted  commissions  under  our  King?  Is  not  civil 
government  dissolved?  Some  have  been  made  to 
believe  that  nothing  short  of  attempting  the  life  of 
the  King,  or  fighting  his  troops,  can  amount  to  high 

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Two  Men  of  Taunton 


treason  or  rebellion.  If,  reader,  you  are  one  of  those, 
apply  to  an  honest  lawyer  (if  such  an  one  can  be 
found)  and  enquire  what  kind  of  offence  it  is  for  a 
number  of  men  to  assemble  armed,  and  forcibly 
to  obstruct  the  course  of  justice,  even  to  prevent 
the  King's  courts  from  being  held  at  their  stated 
terms;  for  a  body  of  people  to  seize  upon  the  King's 
provincial  revenue;  I  mean  the  monies  collected  by 
virtue  of  grants  made  by  the  General  Court  to  his 
Majesty  for  the  support  of  his  government,  within 
this  province;  for  a  body  of  men  to  assemble  without 
being  called  by  authority,  and  to  pass  governmental 
acts;  or  for  a  number  of  people  to  take  the  militia 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  King's  representative,  or  to 
form  a  new  militia,  or  to  raise  men  and  appoint  of 
ficers  for  a  public  purpose,  without  the  order  or  per 
mission  of  the  King,  or  his  representative;  or  for 
a  number  of  men  to  take  to  their  arms,  and  march 
with  a  professed  design  of  opposing  the  king's  troops ; 
ask,  reader,  of  such  a  lawyer,  what  is  the  crime,  and 
what  the  punishment;  and  if,  perchance,  thou  art 
one  that  hast  been  active  in  these  things,  and  art 
not  insensibility  itself,  his  answer  will  harrow  up  thy 
soul. 

I  assure  you,  my  friends,  I  would  not  that  this 
conduct  should  be  told  beyond  the  borders  of  this 
province;  I  wish  it  were  consigned  to  perpetual  ob 
livion;  but  alas,  it  is  too  notorious  to  be  concealed; 
our  newspapers  have  already  published  it  to  the 
world;  we  can  neither  prevent  nor  conceal  it.  The 
shaft  is  already  sped,  and  the  utmost  exertion  is 

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The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

necessary  to  prevent  the  blow.  We  already  feel  the 
effects  of  anarchy;  mutual  confidence,  affection, 
and  tranquillity,  those  sweeteners  of  human  life, 
are  succeeded  by  distrust,  hatred,  and  wild  uproar; 
the  useful  arts  of  agriculture  and  commerce  are 
neglected  for  caballing,  mobbing  this  or  the  other 
man,  because  he  acts,  speaks,  or  is  suspected  of 
thinking  different  from  the  prevailing  sentiment  of 
the  times,  in  purchasing  arms,  and  forming  a  militia; 
O  height  of  madness !  with  a  professed  design  of  op 
posing  Great  Britain.  I  suspect  many  of  us  have 
been  induced  to  join  in  these  measures,  or  but  faintly 
to  oppose  them,  from  an  apprehension  that  Great 
Britain  would  not,  or  could  not  exert  herself  suf 
ficiently  to  subdue  America.  Let  us  consider  this 
matter.  However  closely  we  may  hug  ourselves 
in  the  opinion,  that  the  Parliament  has  no  right  to 
tax  or  legislate  for  us,  the  people  of  England  hold 
the  contrary  opinion  as  firmly.  They  tell  us  we  are 
a  part  of  the  British  Empire;  that  every  state,  from 
the  nature  of  government,  must  have  a  supreme, 
uncontrollable  power,  coextensive  with  the  empire 
itself;  and  that  that  power  is  vested  in  Parliament. 
It  is  as  unpopular  to  deny  this  doctrine  in  Great 
Britain,  as  it  is  to  assert  it  in  the  colonies;  so  there 
is  but  little  probability  of  serving  ourselves  at  this 
day  by  our  ingenious  distinctions  between  a  right 
of  legislation  for  one  purpose,  and  not  for  another. 
We  have  bid  them  defiance;  and  the  longest  sword 
must  carry  it,  unless  we  change  our  measures.  Man 
kind  are  the  same,  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 

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Two  Men  of  Taunton 


same  fondness  for  dominion  that  presides  in  the 
breast  of  an  American,  actuates  the  breast  of  an 
European.  If  the  colonies  are  not  a  part  of  the 
British  Empire  already,  and  subject  to  the  su 
preme  authority  of  the  state,  Great  Britain  will 
make  them  so.  Had  we  been  prudent  enough  to 
confine  our  opposition  within  certain  limits,  we 
might  have  stood  some  chance  of  succeeding  once 
more;  but  alas,  we  have  passed  the  Rubicon.  It 
is  now  universally  said  and  believed,  in  England, 
that  if  this  opportunity  of  reclaiming  the  colonies, 
and  reducing  them  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  is  lost, 
they,  in  truth,  will  be  dismembered  from  the  em 
pire,  and  become  as  distinct  a  state  from  Great 
Britain,  as  Hanover;  that  is,  although  they  may 
continue  their  allegiance  to  the  person  of  the  King, 
they  will  own  none  to  the  imperial  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  nor  yield  obedience  to  any  of  her  laws,  but 
each  as  they  shall  think  proper  to  adopt.  Can  you 
indulge  the  thought  one  moment,  that  Great  Britain 
will  consent  to  this  ?  For  what  has  she  protected  and 
defended  the  colonies  against  the  maritime  powers 
of  Europe,  from  their  first  British  settlement  to  this 
day?  For  what  did  she  purchase  New  York  of  the 
Dutch  ?  For  what  was  she  so  lavish  of  her  best  blood 
and  treasure  in  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  other 
territories  in  America?  Was  it  to  raise  up  a  rival 
state,  or  to  enlarge  her  own  empire?  Or  if  the  con 
sideration  of  empire  was  out  of  the  question,  what 
security  can  she  have  of  our  trade,  when  once  she 
has  lost  our  obedience?  I  mention  these  things,  my 

[288] 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

friends,  that  you  may  know  how  people  reason  upon 
the  subject  in  England;  and  to  convince  you  that 
you  are  much  deceived,  if  you  imagine  that  Great 
Britain  will  accede  to  the  claims  of  the  colonies;  she 
will  as  soon  conquer  New  England,  as  Ireland  or 
Canada,  if  either  of  them  revolted;  and  by  arms,  if 
the  milder  influences  of  Government  prove  ineffect 
ual.  Perhaps  you  are  as  fatally  mistaken  in  another 
respect,  I  mean,  as  to  the  power  of  Great  Britain  to 
conquer.  But  can  any  of  you,  that  think  soberly 
upon  the  matter,  be  so  deluded  as  to  believe  that 
Great  Britain,  who  so  lately  carried  her  arms  with 
success  to  every  part  of  the  globe,  triumphed  over 
the  united  powers  of  France  and  Spain,  and  whose 
fleets  give  law  to  the  ocean,  is  unable  to  conquer  us  ? 
Should  the  colonies  unite  in  a  war  against  Great 
Britain  (which,  by  the  way,  is  not  a  supposable 
case),  the  colonies  south  of  Pennsylvania  would  be 
unable  to  furnish  any  men;  they  have  not  more  than 
is  necessary  to  govern  their  numerous  slaves,  and  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Indians.  I  will  sup 
pose  that  the  northern  colonies  can  furnish  as  many, 
and  indeed  more  men  than  can  be  used  to  advantage; 
but  have  you  arms  fit  for  a  campaign  ?  If  you  have 
arms,  have  you  military  stores,  or  can  you  procure 
them?  When  this  war  is  proclaimed,  all  supplies 
from  foreign  parts  will  be  cut  off.  Have  you  money 
to  maintain  the  war?  Or  had  you  all  those  things, 
some  others  are  still  wanting,  which  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  encounter  regular  troops,  that  is  dis 
cipline,  and  that  subordination  whereby  each  can 

[289] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


command  all  below  him,  from  a  general  officer  to  the 
lowest  subaltern;  these  you  neither  have  nor  can 
have  in  such  a  war.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Pro 
vincials  in  the  late  war  were  never  brought  to  a 
proper  discipline,  though  they  had  the  example  of 
the  regular  troops  to  encourage,  and  the  martial 
law  to  enforce  it.  We  all  know,  notwithstanding  the 
province  law  for  regulating  the  militia,  it  was  under 
little  more  command  than  what  the  officers  could 
obtain  from  treating  and  humouring  the  common 
soldiers;  what,  then,  can  be  expected  from  such  an 
army  as  you  will  bring  into  the  field,  if  you  bring 
any,  each  one  a  politician,  puffed  up  with  his  own 
opinion,  and  feeling  himself  second  to  none  ?  Can  any 
of  you  command  ten  thousand  such  men?  Can  you 
punish  the  disobedient?  Can  all  your  wisdom  direct 
their  strength,  courage,  or  activity  to  any  given 
point?  Would  not  the  least  disappointment  or  un 
favourable  aspect  cause  a  general  dereliction  of  the 
service?  Your  new-fangled  militia  have  already 
given  us  a  specimen  of  their  future  conduct.  In  some 
of  their  companies,  they  have  already  chosen  two, 
in  others,  three  sets  of  officers,  and  are  as  dissatis 
fied  with  the  last  choice  as  the  first.  I  do  not  doubt 
the  natural  bravery  of  my  countrymen;  all  men 
would  act  the  same  part  in  the  same  situation.  Such 
is  the  army  with  which  you  are  to  oppose  the  most 
powerful  nation  upon  the  globe.  An  experienced 
officer  would  rather  take  his  chance  with  five  thou 
sand  British  troops,  than  with  fifty  thousand  such 
militia. 

[  290] 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

I  have  hitherto  confined  my  observations  to  the 
war  within  the  interior  parts  of  the  colonies,  let  us 
now  turn  our  eyes  to  our  extensive  seacoast,  and 
that  we  find  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  Great  Britain; 
our  trade,  fishery,  navigation,  and  maritime  towns 
taken  from  us  the  very  day  that  war  is  proclaimed : 
Inconceivably  shocking  the  scene;  if  we  turn  our 
views  to  the  wilderness,  our  back  settlements  a 
prey  to  our  ancient  enemy,  the  Canadians,  whose 
wounds  received  from  us  in  the  late  war,  will  bleed 
afresh  at  the  prospect  of  revenge,  and  to  the  numer 
ous  tribes  of  savages,  whose  tender  mercies  are 
cruelties.  Thus  with  the  British  army  in  the  front, 
Canadians  and  savages  in  the  rear,  a  regular  army 
in  the  midst,  we  must  be  certain  that  whenever 
the  sword  of  civil  war  is  unsheathed,  devastation 
will  pass  through  our  land  like  a  whirlwind;  our 
houses  be  burnt  to  ashes;  our  fair  possessions  laid 
waste;  and  he  that  falls  by  the  sword,  will  be  happy 
in  escaping  a  more  ignominious  death. 

I  have  hitherto  gone  upon  a  supposition,  that 
all  the  colonies  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia,  would 
unite  in  the  war  against  Great  Britain;  but  I  believe, 
if  we  consider  coolly  upon  the  matter,  we  shall  find 
no  reason  to  expect  any  assistance  out  of  New  Eng 
land;  if  so,  there  will  be  no  arm  stretched  out  to 
save  us.  New  England,  or  perhaps  this  self-devoted 
province  alone,  will  fall  the  unpitied  victim  of  its 
own  folly,  and  furnish  the  world  with  one  more  in 
stance  of  the  fatal  consequences  of  rebellion. 

I  have  as  yet  said  nothing  of  the  difference  in  sen- 

[  291  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


timent  among  themselves.  Upon  a  superficial  view 
we  might  imagine  that  this  province  was  nearly 
unanimous;  but  the  case  is  far  different.  A  very 
considerable  part  of  the  men  of  property  in  this 
province,  are  at  this  day  firmly  attached  to  the  cause 
of  Government;  bodies  of  men,  compelling  persons 
to  disavow  their  sentiments,  to  resign  commissions, 
or  to  subscribe  leagues  and  covenants,  have  wrought 
no  change  in  their  sentiments;  it  has  only  attached 
them  more  closely  to  Government,  and  caused  them 
to  wish  more  fervently,  and  to  pray  more  devoutly, 
for  its  restoration.  These,  and  thousands  beside,  if 
they  fight  at  all,  will  fight  under  the  banners  of 
loyalty.  I  can  assure  you  that  associations  are  now 
forming  in  several  parts  of  this  province,  for  the  sup 
port  of  his  Majesty's  Government  and  mutual  de 
fence;  and  let  me  tell  you,  whenever  the  royal  stand 
ard  shall  be  set  up,  there  will  be  such  a  flocking  to 
it,  as  will  astonish  the  most  obdurate.  And  now,  in 
God's  name,  what  is  it  that  has  brought  us  to  this 
brink  of  destruction?  Has  not  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain  been  as  mild  and  equitable  in  the 
colonies,  as  in  any  part  of  her  extensive  dominions  ? 
Has  not  she  been  a  nursing  mother  to  us,  from  the 
days  of  our  infancy  to  this  time?  Has  she  not  been 
indulgent  almost  to  a  fault?  Might  not  each  one  of 
us  at  this  day  have  sat  quietly  under  his  own  vine 
and  fig-tree,  and  there  have  been  none  to  make  us 
afraid,  were  it  not  for  our  own  folly  ?  Will  not  pos 
terity  be  amazed,  when  they  are  told  that  the  pre 
sent  distraction  took  its  rise  from  a  threepenny  duty 

[  292  ] 


The  Massachusettensis  Papers 

on  tea,  and  call  it  a  more  unaccountable  frenzy, 
and  more  disgraceful  to  the  annals  of  America,  than 
that  of  the  witchcraft? 

I  will  attempt  in  the  next  paper  to  retrace  the 
steps  and  mark  the  progressions  that  led  us  to  this 
state.  I  promise  to  do  it  with  fidelity;  and  if  any 
thing  should  look  like  reflecting  on  individuals  or 
bodies  of  men,  it  must  be  set  down  to  my  impar 
tiality,  and  not  to  a  fondness  for  censuring. 

MASSACHUSETTENSIS. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
Taunt  on  during  the  Revolution 

'T  was  autumn,  bright  autumn,  and  glimmered  the  weir, 

The  Taunton  flowed  full  on  that  beautiful  day, 
And  kirtled  wives  gathered  the  flag-pole  anear, 

'Mid  the  old  men  at  prayer  and  the  children  at  play. 
They  saw  the  red  flag  in  blue  Liberty's  dome 

Wave  o'er  the  valley,  Equality's  home, 

And  they  heard  the  men  say,  while  their  own  lips  were  dumb, 
"We'll  defend  with  our  valor  and  virtue  and  votes 
The  red  flag  of  Taunton 
That  waves  o'er  the  Green." 

BUTTER-WORTH. 

A  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  Taun 
ton  was  a  nest  of  rebels.   A  letter  written 
in  August,  1774,  says  of  her  Sons  of  Lib 
erty: 

They  seem  to  be  quite  awake,  and  to  have  awoke 
in  a  passion.  It  is  more  dangerous  being  a  Tory  here, 
than  in  Boston,  even  if  no  troops  were  there. 

The  soil  from  which  bricks,  pottery  and  iron  im 
plements  were  fashioned,  the  coastwise  shipping, 
the  forests,  the  tanneries  and  the  fact  of  its  being 
the  county  seat,  had  combined  to  create  a  centre 
of  some  wealth  and  prominence.  Taunton  was 
relatively  of  greater  importance  than  to-day.  Its 
people  were  farmers,  sailors,  tradesmen,  laborers, 
with  a  leisure  class  so  limited  as  to  be  conspicuous. 
[  294  ] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

Before  the  Revolution,  men  came  through  thick 
mud  to  the  town  meeting  in  March,  and  gave 
vent  to  their  patriotic  zeal  in  stormy  harangues. 
On  High  Court  days,  Taunton  was  a  Mecca 
for  the  neighboring  rustics  who,  if  matters  went 
against  their  grain,  came  cursing,  shaking  their 
fists,  and  shouting  incendiary  language.1  The 
court  was  sometimes  obliged  to  sit  in  the  tavern, 
because  the  populace  packed  the  court-room  so 
full  the  judges  could  not  enter.  Excuses  given  for 
their  conduct  were:  that  fees  and  court  charges 
were  extortionate;  that  the  commissions  ran  in  the 
name  of  the  King;  that  extremely  obnoxious  per 
sons  had  been  appointed  to  office,  and  so  on.  The 
Whig  might  appeal  in  vain  to  a  tribunal  that 
owed  its  existence  to  the  Tory  power.  Abigail 
Adams  wrote  to  John  at  Philadelphia,  September, 
1774: 

I  saw  a  letter  from  Eunice  Paine  wherein  she  gives 
an  account  of  the  breaking  up  of  court  last  week  in 
Taunton.  Angier  urged  the  court's  opening  and 
calling  up  the  actions,  but  could  not  effect  it,  and 
she  says  there  were  two  thousand  men  assembled 
around  the  court-house,  sent  by  a  committee  of 
nine,  who  presented  a  petition  requesting  that  they 
would  not  sit. 

1  A  ringleader  of  these  rebels  was  "Nat"  Leonard,  who  ac 
quired  sufficient  experience  as  mob-leader  to  secure  an  import 
ant  command  in  the  Patriot  army. 

[295] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


In  harrying  out  of  their  territory  the  offensive 
Loyalists,  the  Taunton  Sons  of  Liberty  directed 
particular  vengeance  against  Colonel  Gilbert  of 
Freetown  as  herebefore  stated.  Assembling  at 
Weir  Bridge  one  autumn  morning  they  waited  on 
him  to  request  that  he  decline  the  office  of  High 
Sheriff,  warning  him  that  if  he  did  not,  he  must 
abide  the  consequences. 

In  September,  1774,  a  convention  was  held  in 
Taunton  of  delegates  from  Berkeley,  Dartmouth, 
Dighton,  Easton,  Mansfield,  Norton,  Raynham, 
Swanzea,  and  Taunton.  Zephaniah  Leonard  was 
chosen  chairman,  and  the  celebrated  Bristol 
County  Resolves  were  drafted,  akin  in  tone  to  the 
earlier  Suffolk  Resolves,  expressing  allegiance  to 
the  King,  but  demanding  political  rights.  The 
Preamble  reads: 

WHEREAS,  our  ancestors,  of  blessed  memory,  from 
a  prudent  care  of  themselves,  and  a  tender  concern 
for  their  descendants,  did,  through  a  series  of  un 
paralleled  dangers  and  distresses,  purchase  a  valu 
able  inheritance  in  this  western  world,  and  carefully 
transmitted  the  same  to  us  their  posterity;  and 
whereas  for  many  years  past,  we  have  quietly  en 
joyed  certain  rights  and  privileges,  stipulated  by 
charter,  and  repeatedly  confirmed  by  royal  engage 
ments;  which  rights  and  privileges  are  now  un 
justly  invaded  by  the  pretended  authority  of  a  British 
Parliament,  under  pretext  that  it  is  inexpedient 

[296] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

for  us  any  longer  to  enjoy  them;  and  as  the  same  per 
sons  which  found  out  the  inexpediency,  will  no 
doubt,  in  time,  discover  that  it  is  inexpedient  for  us 
to  enjoy  any  rights,  and  even  any  property  at  all; 
we  cannot  in  justice  to  ourselves  and  posterity,  and 
in  gratitude  to  our  reverend  ancestors,  tamely 
stand  by  and  suffer  everything  that  is  valuable  and 
dear  to  be  wrested  from  us;  but  are  resolutely  deter 
mined,  at  the  risque  of  our  fortunes  and  lives,  to 
defend  our  natural  and  compacted  rights,  and  to 
oppose  to  our  utmost  all  illegal  and  unconstitu 
tional  measures,  which  have  been  or  may  be  here 
after  adopted  by  a  British  parliament,  or  a  British 
ministry.  And  though  we  deprecate  the  evils  which 
are  naturally  consequent  upon  a  breach  of  that 
mutual  affection  and  confidence  which  has  sub 
sisted  betwixt  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies;  yet 
we  think  it  better  to  suffer  those  evils  than  volun 
tarily  submit  to  perpetual  slavery.  We  are  sensible 
that  the  important  crisis  before  us  demands  the 
exercise  of  much  wisdom,  prudence,  and  fortitude, 
and  we  sincerely  hope  that  all  our  deliberation  and 
actions  will  be  guided  by  the  principles  of  sound  rea 
son,  and  a  hearty  desire  to  promote  the  true  interest 
of  the  British  empire. 

In  October,  a  Liberty  Pole  was  erected  on  Taun 
ton  Green,  flying  a  red  flag  bearing  the  words 
LIBERTY  AND  UNION!  UNION  AND  LIB 
ERTY!  The  Taunton  women  were  not  behind 
their  husbands  in  zeal  for  the  principles  expressed 

[297] 


Two  Men  ot  Taunton 


upon  the  banner  which,  made  with  their  own 
hands,  now  fluttered  in  the  breeze.  While  Tory 
lawyers  and  ministers  were  summarily  dealt  with 
by  the  Patriots,  the  Tory  doctors  were  generally 
treated  more  leniently.  But  when  Dr.  McKinstry 
was  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  Boston,  his  wife 
(a  Leonard,  cousin  of  Daniel)  remained  at  home, 
and  took  no  pains  to  conceal  her  contempt  for 
the  Patriots.  Her  neighbors  endured  her  scorn  for 
a  while;  then,  one  morning,  these  women  of  the 
New  England  Taunton,  jealous  because  Mistress 
McKinstry  was  still  enjoying  her  afternoon  tea, 
proceeded  to  her  house  on  High  Street  (as  the 
women  marched  in  Old  English  Taunton  dur 
ing  Monmouth's  Rebellion),  dragged  her  from  her 
fireside,  marched  her  down  to  the  Green,  and 
around  the  Liberty  Pole  in  humiliating  token  of 
allegiance. 

In  November,  when  Paine  returned  from  Con 
gress  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Gun 
powder,  he  turned  his  attention  and  that  of  his 
wife's  family  to  the  making  of  saltpetre,  leaching 
the  mouldy  earth  found  under  old  buildings  for 
potash,  lye,  and  sulphur. 

The  Committee  of  Correspondence  and  Safety 
was  active,  and  (February  20,  1775)  George  God 
frey  wrote  that  "three  companies  of  minute- 
men"  were  in  readiness;  indicating  the  alacrity 
to  follow  the  suggestions  from  Concord,  where 

[298] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

Paine  and  Cobb  were  doing  duty  as  members  of 
the  Provincial  Congress.  These  minute-men  were 
too  far  away  to  fight  at  Concord,  but  the  next 
day  were  found  among  the  gathering  forces  at 
Roxbury,  dust-stained  and  footsore,  under  com 
mand  of  Captain  James  Williams. 

Taunton  Green  was  the  campus  martins.  In  ear 
lier  days,  Indian  captives  were  displayed  here. 
The  corseleted  Standish  and  his  followers  had 
crossed  it,  as  well  as  Captain  Church,  another  In 
dian  fighter.  Soldiers  on  the  Louisburg  expedition 
trained  upon  it.  General  Sullivan  stopped  here 
with  his  troops  on  the  way  to  his  disastrous  cam 
paign  in  Rhode  Island  in  1778.  Soldiers  left  here 
not  only  on  April  19,  1775,  but  again,  as  many 
remember,  on  April  19,  1861.  Captain  Silas 
Shepard's  troops  departed  hence  for  the  defence 
of  New  Bedford  during  the  War  of  1812.  The  sod 
has  throbbed  to  the  tread  of  trainbands  marching 
at  muster  for  two  hundred  years.  Once  a  year 
still  the  militia  manoeuvre  upon  the  Green  to  pre 
serve  their  perpetual  right  therein. 

July  3, 1775,  a  Committee  of  Inspection,  Safety, 
and  Correspondence  was  chosen  at  town  meeting. 
Nicholas  Baylies,  Colonel  George  Williams,  and 
Captain  John  Reed  were  appointed  to  take  charge 
of  the  estate  and  effects  of  Daniel  Leonard,  while 
some  of  their  neighbors  found  occupation  in 
picking  over  the  financial  remains  of  other  de- 
-  [  299  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


parted  fellow-townsmen.  Seth  Padelford,  one 
of  many  creditors,  whom  Daniel  Leonard  in 
structed  in  the  law  and  whose  note  for  £81  Padel 
ford  held,  was  appointed  agent  July  27,  1777;  he 
found  Leonard's  personal  estate  to  realize  £156 
6s.  id.,  or,  reduced  to  silver,  £68  45.  n^4d.  The 
list  of  Leonard's  creditors  (some  of  whom  he 
claimed  were  imaginary)  included  nearly  every 
person  in  Taunton  who  had  a  spare  pound. 

The  ravenous  Whigs,  debt-loaded  and  intoxi 
cated  by  success,  felt  the  power  of  numbers. 
Having  little  fear  of  punishment,  a  few  gave  loose 
rein  to  their  passions  and  resorted  to  malice  and 
violence.  They  held  Loyalist  property  as  free 
booty.  Few  dared  to  defend  an  absentee.  By  the 
practice  of  the  court,  when  there  was  no  appear 
ance  of  a  defendant  he  was  defaulted  and  judg 
ment  entered  without  a  jury  of  inquiry.  On  a 
general  declaration  for  goods  sold,  labor  per 
formed,  services  rendered,  or  for  money  loaned, 
no  evidence  was  required,  not  even  the  oath  of  the 
plaintiff.  Within  two  years  the  defendant  might 
bring  writ  and  service  for  a  new  trial. 

The  court,  upon  recommendation,  November, 
1782,  of  a  committee  consisting  of  James  Wil 
liams,  Josiah  Crocker,  and  Apollos  Leonard, 
allowed  claims  against  Leonard  by  Charles 
Durfee,  John  Tuck,  Thomas  Barstow,  Mahitable 
Emett,  William  Baylies,  David  Cobb,  Elijah 
[  300  ] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

Dean,  McWharter  &  Stevenson,  Abijah  Hodges, 
Susan  Smith,  Edward  Winslow,  Lev!  White, 
Ebenezer  Sever,  the  County  of  Bristol,  Abiathar 
Leonard,  Dr.  McKinstry's  estate,  Tabitha  Briggs, 
Josiah  Quincy,  William  Browne,  Prudence  White, 
Colonel  George  Leonard,  William  Baylies,  Guard 
ian  Nancy  Leonard,  and  Estate  of  Col.  White. 

Daniel  Leonard  acknowledged  debts  of  £278 
iis.Sy^d.  His  property  was  sold  when  the  British 
troops  were  victorious  and  the  future  value  of  land 
seemed  small.  In  final  adjustment  the  Leonard 
estate  yielded,  according  to  the  report  of  July  5, 
1783,  at  the  rate  of  2s.  6d.  if.  to  the  pound. 
May  1 6,  1783,  George  Godfrey  and  others,  ap 
pointed  to  sell  the  property,  had  paid  into  the 
treasury  the  total  sum  of  £3266. 

As  an  inland  town,  Taunton  was  a  Bethel  of 
refuge  for  alarmed  citizens  of  Boston  and  New 
port.  The  refugees  escaped  the  actual  terrors 
of  war  along  the  seaports,  but  did  not  find  them 
selves  beyond  the  sound  of  hostilities.  A  man  in 
Norton,  putting  his  ear  to  a  fence-rail,  protested, 
in  spite  of  scoffing  skeptics,  that  he  felt  the  vibra 
tion  of  cannonading  at  Bunker  Hill;  an  old  lady 
in  Berkeley,  some  forty  years  afterward,  declared 
that  her  china  was  shaken  off  the  shelves  during 
this  battle,  and  she  produced  the  cups,  broken 
and  cracked,  to  corroborate  her  story.  Dr.  Ezra 
Stiles,  who  came  up  to  Dighton,  records  that  he 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


plainly  heard  the  sound  of  cannon  ,at  the  siege 
of  Boston,  and  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  the  English  held  New 
port,  and  a  large  number  of  timorous  souls,  largely 
women  and  children,  came  from  there  to  Taunton 
for  safety.  The  population  of  the  town  was  some 
thing  over  four  thousand.  These  people  were  a 
homogeneous  race  —  from  the  south  of  England, 
interspersed  with  few  foreigners,  save  some  four 
hundred  negroes,  imported  from  Africa,  and  an 
occasional  lingering  red  man,  a  few  deported  Irish 
convicts,  a  vagrant  Dutchman,  Frenchman,  or 
wandering  Jew.  In  this  year  1909,  we  may  ride 
in  a  trolley  car  with  Scotch  conductor  and  Irish 
motorman,  sitting  between  an  Englishman  and 
a  Spaniard;  go  to  a  French-Canadian  barber's; 
send  laundry  to  a  Chinaman;  have  a  colored 
maid  to  wait  on  the  door;  a  Swede  in  the  kitchen; 
a  Portuguese  in  the  stable;  an  Italian  selling  fruit; 
a  Greek  to  shine  shoes;  Poles  and  Hungarians- 
digging  in  the  streets;  a  German  conducting  a 
bakery;  a  Filipino  restaurateur;  a  South  African 
calling  for  "junk";  a  Russian  Jew  for  alderman. 
This  Babel  of  tongues  forces  home  the  fact  that 
Taunton  is  becoming  a  polyglot  cauldron  of  na 
tionalities  as  diversified  as  the  witches'  broth  in 
"Macbeth." 

The  influx  of  Newporters  is  evident  in  the  necro 
logy,  kept  by  Deacon  George  Godfrey.  From 
[  302  ] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

these  brief  records,  imagination  readily  constructs 
a  homely  picture  of  the  life  here  with  its  varied  hu 
man  touches,  and  some  of  its  local  "characters." 

Negor  man  of  Daniel  Leonard,  Esq.,  died  Febru 
ary,  1775. 

Old  Granney  Macomber  died  jd  day  of  April,  1775. 

John  Cobb  kill'd  with  thunder  July  n,  1775. 
Allmost  all  ye  Rest  of  ye  family  struck  down. 

Old  William  Simmons  of  Swanzey  died  in  Taun 
ton  with  drunkeness  August,  1775. 

Old  Hope  Tripe,  Indian  woman,  died  19  May, 
1776.1 

Rev.  Caleb  Barnum  Died  as  soposed  August  22d 
day  at  Pittsfield,  1776. 

Olde  Deacon  Brown  of  Newport  Died  August, 

I777- 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Barren  from  Newport  died  1777. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Earle  of  Newport  died  Novem 
ber  27,  1777. 

The  daughter  of  Mr.  A of  Newport  died 

November  27,  1777. 

The  negor  Gerle  of  Abiel  Smith  drowned  Decem 
ber  17,  1777. 

1  This  Indian  squaw,  Hope  Tripe,  was  probably  the  one  who 
came  to  dinner  at  the  Lincoln  home  one  day,  and,  finding  they 
were^to  have  tripe  for  dinner,  asked  if  she  might  cook  it.  They 
permitted  her  to  do  so,  and  as  it  sizzled  in  the  skillet,  the  im 
patient  woman  found  her  mouth  watering  so  that  she  could  not 
wait  until  it  was  cooked,  but  began  to  eat  it;  by  the  time  it 
should  have  been  ready  to  serve,  she  had  eaten  the  whole  of  it, 
which  gave  her  that  succulent  name. 

[  303  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


A  poor  Continental  soldier  named  Bunn  died  at 
Lieut.  Wm.  Thayer's  June,  1778. 

Elizabeth  Waldron  from  Newport  died  August, 
1778. 

Childe  of  Wm.  Thurston  from  Newport  died 
December  7,  1780. 

The  childe  of  Capt.  Bently  from  Newport  died 
some  time  this  year. 

Old  Polorck  the  Jew  died  November,  1782,  sud 
denly. 

A  certain  Indian  Squaw  named  Abigail  Maboine 
died  with  drunkenness  as  supposed  August  18  or  17, 
1780. 

Old  Mr.  Makepeace  the  oyster  catcher  died  May 
27,  1783. 

Old  Cuff  Cobb,  Late  Negor  of  Thomas  Cobb,  Esq., 
June,  1784. 

The  negor  woman  formerly  at  Dr.  McKinstry's 
died  1783. 

Poor  Anthony  Fry  drowned,  soposed  fell  off  Neck 
o'  Land  bridge,  1780. 

The  child  of  Beny  Richmond  he  had  of  Betty 
Sole  died  October  14,  1782. 

The  women  who  gathered  to  make  linsey- 
woolsey  shirts  and  knit  stockings  for  the  soldiery 
did  not  lack  for  topics  as  they  patriotically  brewed 
their  "  liberty  tea  "  of  raspberry  leaves.  The  town 
was  alarmed  in  1778,  by  smallpox  ravages,  re 
quiring  the  erection  of  a  pest  hospital  at  Prospect 
Hill.  Dr.  Cobb  writes  that  one  hundred  and  fifty 
[  304  1 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

died  that  year  of  the  disease.  At  the  sound  of 
the  town-crier's  bell  the  knitters  paused  to  listen 
for  news  of  the  fortunes  of  war.  Letters  from 
Taunton's  distinguished  citizens,  in  field  and 
forum,  were  awaited  with  eagerness,  and  brought 
a  thrill  of  elation  when  the  news  was  of  a  victory. 
General  Godfrey  and  General  Cobb  were  in  the 
army,  while  Paine  was  in  Congress.  From  neigh 
boring  precincts  came  General  Baylies  of  Dighton, 
one  of  Washington's  fighting  family,  and  Toby 
Gilmore  of  Raynham,  a  faithful  body  servant  who 
polished  the  boots  of  the  commander-in-chief.1 

Mrs.  Paine  dwelt  upon  the  visit  of  the  great 
Benjamin  Franklin  in  November,  1775,  when  he 
stopped  to  inquire  if  he  could  serve  as  post-rider, 
to  carry  letters  to  her  husband.  A  day  or  two 
later  she  wrote: 

TAUNTON,  November  10,  1775. 

I  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  Doctor  Franklin  on 
his  return  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  so  kind  as  to  call 
at  our  house  for  letters  or  anything  else  that  I  wanted 

1  At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  General  gave  Toby  a  small  field- 
piece.  "Old  Toby,"  as  this  gun  was  called,  was  accustomed  for 
many  years  to  "speak  a  piece"  in  the  early  morning  on  the 
Fourth  of  July.  Toby  was  a  slave  kidnapped  on  the  shore  of 
Africa  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  was  bought  and  brought  up 
by  Captain  Gilmore,  of  Raynham,  and  offered  to  take  the  place 
of  the  Captain  who  was  drafted  for  the  war.  Through  the  in 
fluence  of  David  Cobb,  he  was  appointed  a  body-servant  to 
Washington. 

[305] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


to  send  you.  He  made  but  a  short  stay  with  us  and 
we  would  have  been  glad  for  more  of  his  company. 
There  are  a  great  many  families  moved  to  this  town 
from  Newport  and  Bristol.  The  Cobbs  are  making 
salt  peter. 

June  5,  1776,  at  town  meeting,  the  citizens  voted 
to  pledge  lives  and  fortunes  if  Independence 
should  be  declared.  One  day  in  the  summer  of 
1778,  a  red-headed  youth  on  a  white  horse  dashed 
into  town,  took  a  hurried  lunch  at  the  tavern,  and 
sped  on  to  the  northward.  It  was  Lafayette,  on 
his  famous  seven-hour  ride  from  Portsmouth, 
Rhode  Island,  to  Boston.  Another  visit  of  noto 
riety  in  that  same  year  was  by  an  adventurous 
Rosalind,  attired  in  male  apparel  belonging  to 
Samuel  Leonard  of  Middleboro,  in  which  dis 
guise  she  enlisted  for  the  war  as  a  soldier  boy.1 
The  coming  of  General  Sullivan's  troops  into  town 
in  August,  1778,  was  an  exciting  event.  General 
Cobb  followed  him  and  under  his  command  per 
formed  distinguished  services  in  Rhode  Island. 

Dr.  Ezra  Stiles,  the  minister  of  Newport,  driven 
inland  to  Dighton,  occasionally  occupied  the 
Taunton  pulpit,  wearing  a  full-bottomed  wig.  A 
delightful  character,  he  was  urged  to  settle  here; 
but  about  this  time  another  call  came,  to  the 
presidency  of  Yale  College,  and,  much  as  he  liked 

1  Deborah  Sampson.  Leonard  was  so  offended  by  the  un- 
sexing  of  his  garments  that  he  contemptuously  burned  them. 

[306] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

the  Taunton  people,  he  chose  New  Haven.  Caleb 
Barnum,  a  six-footer  in  a  long  wig,  showed  his 
patriotism  by  leaving  the  pulpit  to  march  away 
as  chaplain  (with  his  body-slave,  Darius),  only 
to  die  of  camp  fever  the  following  year.  After 
Barnum's  departure,  the  candidating  for  a  new 
minister  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Ephraim  Judson, 
who  pleased  the  youngsters  of  the  congregation 
by  preaching  seated  in  a  chair  (some  said  from 
laziness) .  During  the  sweltering  days  of  summer, 
he  would  give  out  the  longest  psalm,  leave  his 
pulpit,  and  stretch  himself  under  a  tree  —  pos 
sibly  not  so  much  to  escape  the  heat  as  the  sing 
ing  of  the  congregation,  who  sometimes  held  the 
last  note  so  long  as  to  catch  their  breath  once  or 
twice.  The  ladies  raised  such  a  cry  of  indignation 
and  threat  of  boycott  because  Nathaniel  Bird 
refused  to  accept  "Continental  Currency"  in 
payment  for  dry  goods  that  the  shop-keeper  pub 
licly  confessed  his  wrongdoing.  During  the  siege  of 
Boston,  a  shipload  of  British  soldiers,  taken  from 
a  stranded  vessel  at  Nantasket,  was  quartered  at 
Taunton  under  guard,  arousing  curiosity  among 
the  gentler  sex.  Several  were  employed  in  the 
Adams  factory,  where  they  gave  instruction  in 
English  nail-making. 

One  of  the  last  American  celebrations  of  Guy 
Fawkes's  Day  was  held  in  Taunton.    In  accord 
ance    with    the   English    custom,    fantastically 
F307] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


masked  men  carried  in  procession,  with  a  dark 
lantern  and  matches,  a  "dummy"  representing 
Guy  Fawkes,  which  was  finally  burned  in  a  bon 
fire.  During  the  French  wars  the  Pope  was  sub 
stituted  for  Fawkes,  and  finally,  on  the  eve  of  the 
Revolution,  King  George  himself;  as  his  adherents 
were  similarly  treated,  a  scarecrow  figure  of  Daniel 
Leonard,  the  bete  noir  of  Taunton,  was  probably 
dragged  through  the  streets  and  cast  into  the 
flames  upon  the  Green.1 

While  the  hated  Tory  was  being  burned  in  effigy 
and  his  quondam  friend  was  deep  in  councils  of 
state,  Mrs.  Paine  or  Eunice  might  be  seen,  in  mob- 
cap  and  morning  gown  pottering  in  the  kitchen 
garden,  the  contents  of  which  we  know  from  this 
inventory  made  by  Mr.  Paine  in  1775 : 

Spinage  Marble  Pease 

Peper  Grass  Pole  Beans 

Lima  Beans  (own  growth)  Amaranthus 

Radish  (own  growth)  Bell  Vines 

1  Samuel  Breck,  of  Philadelphia,  who  stopped  here  awaiting 
the  end  of  the  siege  of  Boston,  leaves  this  record  in  his  diary: 

We  stayed  a  few  months  in  Philadelphia  (after  the  iQth  of  April, 
1775),  and  then  returned  to  Taunton,  in  Massachusetts,  in  order  to  be 
ready  to  enter  Boston  as  soon  as  the  British  should  evacuate  the  town. 
It  was  here  at  Taunton  that  I  distinctly  recollect  seeing  the  procession 
of  the  Pope  and  the  Devil  on  the  5th  of  November  (1775),  the  anniver 
sary  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot.  Effigies  of  these  two  illustrious  personages 
were  dragged  around  the  Common,  and  this  was  perhaps  the  last  ex 
hibition  of  the  kind  in  our  country.  Sentiments  of  great  liberality  and 
toleration  have  contributed  to  abolish  the  custom  heretofore  annual, 
and  to  root  out  all  violent  prejudices  against  the  good  Bishop  of  Rome 
and  the  Church  which  he  governs. 

[  308] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

Dutch  Turnip  Mandrake 

Parsley  Virginia  pumpion 

Sweet  Marjoran  French  Marygold 

Dwarf  Pease  (not  good)         Pink 

Common  Lettuce  Winter  Cabbage 

Musk  Melon  Crown  Pease 

Thyme  Cucumbers 
Marrowfats  (most  a  pint)      Carrot  Seed 

Corn  Turnip  Seed 

Celery  Sugar  Pease 

Beets  Honeysuckle 

Bertram,  the   naturalist    of   Philadelphia,    gave 
Paine  a  root  of  tantoxilium  for  his  garden. 

Aunt  Eunice  kept  house  with  Mrs.  Paine  and 
helped  to  care  for  the  children,  who  could  roll  their 
hoops  round  the  bare,  lopsided  pasture,  now  the 
Green,  without  running  into  iron  fences  or  being 
reprimanded  by  blue-coated  policemen,  or  could 
fly  kites  with  no  danger  of  leaving  them  in  the 
tree-tops,  a  frazzled  reminder  of  childhood's  sor 
row.  On  pleasant  afternoons,  Madam  Paine  could 
put  on  her  calash  and  drive  her  chaise  to  Attle- 
boro  to  call  upon  former  neighbors.  The  rejoicing, 
when  the  long  strain  of  warfare  was  over,  is  in 
timated  in  this  letter  from  General  Cobb  to  Squire 
Paine  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis : 

HEAD-QUARTERS,  NEAR  YORK,  VIRGINIA, 
Oct.  28,  1781. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  My  not  writing  you  hereto 
fore  has  not  been  owing  to  a  want  of  an  affectionate 

[  309  ] 


Two  Men  ot  Taunton 


remembrance  of  you  and  your  family,  but  of  a  proper 
opportunity  and  a  certain  mode  of  conveyance. 

You  must  be  informed  before  this  of  the  interest 
ing  event  that  has  taken  place  in  this  quarter, which 
I  should  have  informed  you  of  at  the  time,  but  the 
despatches  for  Congress  were  sent  so  suddenly  that 
I   had  only  a  moment  just  to  inform  Governor 
Hancock:  As  Lord  Cornwallis  surrendered  at  least 
seven  days  sooner  than  we  expected,  I  will  give  you 
some  of  the  particulars  of  our  operations:  on  the 
8th  inst.,  after  great  exertions  and  fatigue  in  bring 
ing  up  our  heavy  artillery  and  stores,  we  opened  our 
first   batteries   upon   his   lordship;   these   required 
finishing;  and  putting  our  first  parallel  in  a  proper 
state  of  defence  detained  us  till  the  evening  of  the 
I4th,  when  two  of  the  enemy's  advanced  redoubts, 
through  which  we   intended   running    our  second 
parallel,  were  stormed  and  carried,  and  our  second 
parallel,  together  with  all  its  communications,  was 
completed  by  morning.    Most  of  the  two  following 
days  were  employed  in  erecting  batteries  on  our 
advanced  parallel;  soon  after  they  were  completed, 
and  we  had  opened  sixty  pieces  of  artillery,  his  lord 
ship,  on  the  morning  of  the  lyth,  sent  a  flag,  which 
was  the  first  that  had  passed,  with  proposals  for 
the  surrendering  of  the  posts  of  York  and  Gloucester. 
Hostilities  ceased.  After  an  interchange  of  flags,  by 
which  the  principles  of  the  surrender  were  explained, 
commissioners  were  appointed  on  the  i8th  to  settle 
the  articles,  and  on  the  I9th,  at  two  o'clock  P.M., 
the  British  army  marched  out  and  grounded  their 

[  310] 


Taunton  during  the  Revolution 

arms,  —  most  joyful  day!  Most  of  the  officers  are 
paroled  for  Europe,  and  their  troops  marched,  three 
days  after  their  captivity,  for  their  lodgment  at 
Winchester,  in  this  State.  The  British  army,  in 
cluding  officers,  is  above  seven  thousand,  and  a  thou 
sand  naval  prisoners.  We  have  taken  two  thousand 
suits  of  clothes,  seventy-five  pieces  of  brass  artillery, 
and  a  hundred  and  forty-one  iron,  together  with  a 
quantity  of  powder  and  other  military  stores,  —  not 
forgetting  the  military  chest,  with  two  thousand 
pounds  sterling  in  it,  and  nine  thousand  stands  of 
arms,  —  about  sixty  sail  of  vessels,  including  a 
frigate  and  sloop-of-war,  all  which  belong  to  the 
French.  A  forty-gun  ship  was  burned  by  us  in  the 
siege. 

This  is  the  greatest  blow  our  enemies  have  re 
ceived  during  the  war,  more  particularly  as  it  has 
happened  in  that  part  of  the  continent  they  thought 
themselves  perfectly  secure  of,  and  must,  with  a 
continuance  of  our  exertions,  soon  put  us  in  pos 
session  of  our  wished-for  peace. 

Arrangements  are  now  forming  for  the  future  dis 
posal  of  the  troops,  and  I  suppose  those  troops  that 
belong  northward  will  soon  march  for  their  old  posi 
tion  on  the  Hudson.  His  Excellency  will  return 
with  them.  General  Greene  will  be  reinforced;  and 
Count  Rochambeau  with  his  army  will  perhaps  re 
main  in  this  State. 

Count  de  Grasse,  with  the  first  fleet  in  the  world, 
will,  if  the  British  dare  face  him,  give  them  another 
flogging,  and  then  pursue  the  orders  of  his  master. 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


I  can't  write  you  any  more.  Give  my  love  to  Mrs. 
Paine  and  family,  and  remembrance  to  all  friends. 
Don't  forget  honest  Joe.  You  will  probably  hear 
from  me  again  when  I  come  a  little  nearer  to  you; 
at  present  I  am  out  of  the  world.  My  best  wishes 
attend  you,  and  believe  me  ever  your  sincere  friend. 

DAVID  COBB. 
HON'BLE  ROBT.  TREAT  PAINE. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
First  Attorney-General  of  Massachusetts 

No  rogue  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law. 

TRUMBULL. 

POLITICS  is  a  maelstrom  more  difficult  to 
emerge  from  than  to  enter.   For  thirty-five 
years,  Paine  was  never  without  some  sort 
of  political  office  in  Massachusetts,  always  care 
ful  not  to  let  go  with  one  hand  until  he  caught  a 
good  grip  with  the  other.   He  was  Representa 
tive  in  the  General  Court,  Delegate  to  Congress, 
Attorney-General,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  Member  of  the  Council.  When  he  came  back 
from  Philadelphia,  he  ceased  to  be  a  national 
figure,  but  bore  an  important  part  in  transform 
ing  his  native  province  into  a  republican  com 
monwealth.    After  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  Congress   began  to  wane    in  importance. 
Paine  preferred  a  seat  in  the  Massachusetts  As 
sembly,  where  he  could  be  of  greater  service  as 
well  as  nearer  to  his  family  and  base  of  supplies. 
In  August,  1777,  he  was  elected  Attorney-General 
to  succeed  his  former  companion,  Sewall,  now 
fled  with  the  Loyalists  and  writing  from  London : 

I  hope  to  God  that  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  day 
when  America  shall  become  independent  of  Great 

[  313  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Britain,  nor  have  to  entertain  the  penumbra  of  a 
doubt  how  the  game  will  end.1 

As  first  Attorney-General  of  the  Commonwealth, 
he  upheld  Governors  Hancock  and  Bowdoin  in 
bringing  social  order  out  of  chaos  and  giving 
equal  opportunity  under  the  law.  His  duties  were 
arduous  and  diversified ;  there  were  many  difficul 
ties  to  overcome,  many  snarls  to  unravel.  War  had 
paralyzed  business,  reduced  thousands  to  poverty, 
let  down  the  bars  of  morality,  and  left  a  heavy 
debt,  compelling  onerous  taxation.  Conflicting 
interests  were  to  be  reconciled;  restless  spirits  to 
be  subdued;  visionary  schemes  to  be  exploded; 
abuses,  riots,  and  insubordination  to  be  suppressed. 
He  had  to  deal  with  counterfeiters,  murderers, 
traitors,  embezzlers,  and  all  the  slippery,  evasive, 
case-hardened,  vicious,  and  incorrigible  charac 
ters  bred  by  revolution.  Paine's  spare  moments 
were  consumed  in  committee  with  Timothy 
Pickering,  James  Bowdoin,  and  the  Supreme 

1  Paine  accepted  the  appointment  in  these  words: 

To  the  honourable  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 

State  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  I  consider  myself  much  honoured  by  your  appoint 
ment  of  me  to  the  office  of  Attorney-General  for  this  state. 

I  hope  the  importance  of  my  political  Engagements  will  be  con 
sidered  as  an  Excuse  for  not  giving  an  answer  sooner. 

I  accept  of  the  Office,  and  I  hope  whilst  I  am  in  it  I  shall  answer  the 
reasonable  expectations  of  my  Constituents. 
With  the  greatest  Esteem  I  am 

Y'r  obedient  h'ble  Ser't 

R.  T.  PAINE. 
August  26, '1777. 

[314] 


First  Attorney-General 


Court  judges,  revising  the  Province  laws,  weed 
ing  out  all  references  to  the  King,  and  compiling 
a  digest  for  the  new  Government. 

During  his  term  of  office,  three  episodes  now 
stand  out  as  brightly  as  the  stars  in  Orion's 
Belt  —  the  confiscation  of  Tory  estates,  the 
drafting  of  the  State  Constitution,  and  the  prose 
cution  of  the  leaders  in  Shays 's  Rebellion.  The 
claims  of  creditors  against  Tories  required  im 
mediate  attention.  One  of  the  early  acts  of  the 
reorganized  General  Court  was  the  confiscation 
of  the  property  of  absentees,  on  the  ground  that, 
when  a  majority  of  a  nation  is  at  war,  its  citizens 
must  render  service;  if  they  decline  to  aid,  they 
are  enemies;  consequently,  their  "goods  and  chat 
tels,  rights  and  credits,  lands,  tenements,  and 
hereditaments  of  every  kind,  shall  escheat,  inure, 
and  accrue  to  the  sole  use  and  benefit  of  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  the  state."  The  Attorney- 
General  was  empowered  to  bring  action  against 
such  estates,  and  to  attach  notices  of  sale  upon 
the  deserted  houses.  He  could  exhibit  to  the  Court 
a  complaint  against  any  absent  Loyalist.  Thus 
it  happened,  by  an  ironical  turn  of  Fate,  that  Mr. 
Paine  could  take  action  of  confiscation  against 
Colonel  Leonard's  estate;  order  a  notice  of  its 
sale  to  be  posted  on  his  mansion,  and  name  a  com 
mittee  to  appraise  his  property,  of  which  Paine 
secured  a  portion  in  settlement  of  a  personal  debt. 

[315] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


The  tangled  estates  of  the  Tories  had  not  been 
straightened  out,  before  Paine  was  called  to  take 
part  in  drafting  a  State  Constitution.  He  was 
one  of  twelve  persons  to  whom  was  entrusted  the 
framing  of  a  constitution,  of  which  an  original 
preliminary  draft  is  preserved  in  his  handwrit 
ing.  This  first  constitution  was  accepted  by  the 
Legislature,  but  rejected,  five  to  one,  by  the 
people,  as  too  hastily  prepared,  and  not  contain 
ing  a  Bill  of  Rights.  In  this  discussion  of  a  con 
stitution,  Paine  urged  that  a  single  legislative 
chamber  was  better  than  two,  a  view  held  also  by 
Franklin  and  Gushing. 

Massachusetts  had  no  governor  from  1775  to 
1780,  the  Council  being  then  the  governing  board 
of  the  State.  To  this  Council,  Paine  was  chosen  in 
place  of  Hopkins,  in  1779.  From  the  I7thofjune, 
1774,  Massachusetts  practically  became  a  free 
and  independent  State.  In  that  year  commissions 
were  ordered  to  run  in  the  name  of  its  "govern 
ment  and  people,"  in  lieu  of  the  King's  name.  On 
the  1 7th  of  June,  1779,  precepts  were  sent  out  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  assemble  in  the  follow 
ing  September,  exactly  five  years  after  the  Re 
presentatives  at  Salem  locked  the  door  against 
Governor  Gage  and  took  their  first  step  for  self- 
government;  and  four  years  from  Bunker  Hill 
day.  Through  those  years  their  capacity  for  self- 
government,  and  inborn  reverence  for  law,  their 

[  316 1 


First  Attorney-General 


pervading  moral  sense  and  love  of  justice,  their 
self-denial  and  self-control,  enabled  the  people 
of  Massachusetts  to  keep  the  ship  of  state  from 
foundering  in  a  sea  of  chaos. 

The  year  1780  saw  the  birth  of  the  Constitu 
tion  which  Paine  bore  a  part  in  fathering.  The 
convention  which  framed  the  constitution  met 
in  the  meeting-house  in  Cambridge,  September  I, 
1779,  and  after  seven  days  took  a  recess  until 
October  28.  January  5,  1780,  it  again  met  in  the 
Old  State  House  at  Boston,  where  its  labors  were 
completed  on  the  2d  day  of  March.  A  committee 
of  thirty,  to  whom  was  referred  the  work  of  pre 
paring  a  plan  and  form  of  government,  included 
Paine;  the  task  was  by  them  entrusted  to  a  sub 
committee  consisting  of  President  Bowdoin  and 
the  two  Adamses,  who  in  turn  delegated  the  labor 
to  John  Adams  alone.  He  approved  a  compul 
sory  support  of  worship,  Congregationalism  being 
the  state  religion  of  Massachusetts;  and  this  ar 
ticle  was  made  even  more  narrow  by  the  conven 
tion.  Compulsory  taxation  for  compulsory  reli 
gious  worship  lingered  from  the  Puritan  period,  in 
which  the  perfect  church  and  perfect  common 
wealth  were  held  inseparable.  According  to  the 
first  draft  of  this  constitution,  no  one  might  hold 
office  who  was  not  a  Protestant.  Though  it  was 
not  adopted,  this  indicated  the  trend  of  feeling 
towards  greater  toleration  than  had  been  granted 
[317] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


by  the  original  constitutions  of  the  Massachusetts 
colonies,  which  declared  that  no  one  should  hold 
office  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church.1 

The  founders  studied  the  ancient  European 
governments.  Using  as  models  the  King,  Lords, 
and  Commons  (words  now  unpalatable  to  Ameri 
cans),  they  established  a  Governor,  Senate,  and 
House  of  Representatives,  their  powers  and 
duties  somewhat  modified  by  the  changed  sit 
uation  and  circumstances,  but  not  essentially 
altered  in  elementary  principles.2  Office-holding 
was  made  dependent  on  a  property  qualification. 
A  local  residence  of  Representatives  was  required, 
on  account  of  some  recusant  Bostonians  who  held 
seats  for  country  towns,  following  British  cus 
tom.  The  encouragement  of  learning  was  a  strong 
point  in  the  Bill  of  Rights.  Massachusetts,  having 
small  agricultural  and  mineral  resources,  must 
depend  on  the  superior  enlightenment  and  skill 
of  its  people  to  maintain  a  leading  place.  Hence 

1  Upon  the  divorce  of  Church  and  State  by  legislative  act 
in  1833,  many  church-goers  felt  that  the  Christian  Common 
wealth  had  sunk  into  a  secular  corporation.    In  the  progress  of 
toleration  and  liberality  we  find  in  our  Legislature  to-day,  Jew 
and  Gentile,  Roman  Catholic  and  Christian  Scientist,  voting 
side  by  side. 

2  The  other  day,  James  Bryce  stated,  from  the  Massachu 
setts  Speaker's  desk,  that  this  legislative  body  was  nearest  to  the 
old  English  Parliament  of  any  institution  in  the  world. 

[318] 


First  Attorney-General 


education  has  always  been  a  pet  hobby  of  this 
State.  Another  noticeable  feature  was  the  injunc 
tion  that  citizens  cultivate  good  humor,  —  proving 
that  even  the  testy  John  Adams  set  store  by  a 
kindly  disposition.  This  constitution  guaranteed 
to  the  people  of  Massachusetts  the  right  to  be 
tried  by  "judges  as  fair,  impartial,  and  independ 
ent  as  the  lot  of  humanity  allows." 

On  the  25th  day  of  October,  1780,  a  proclama 
tion  was  made  from  the  balcony  of  the  Old  State 
House  that  Governor  Hancock  had  taken  the  oath 
of  office  as  the  first  Chief  Magistrate  elected  under 
the  new  constitution. 

The  government  had  not  been  firmly  established 
when  an  insurrection  broke  out  under  the  lead 
of  General  Daniel  Shays.  Most  of  his  followers 
were  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  ill-clad,  ill-fed,  ill- 
paid,  ill-tempered.  There  was  a  reason  for  the 
uprising.  After  the  war,  paper  currency  fell  in 
value,  debts  increased,  people  forgot  their  eco 
nomical  habits,  morals  were  lowered  by  the  long 
closing  of  the  schools  and  churches.  There  was 
widespread  poverty,  disaster,  and  despair.  Many 
advocated  repudiation  and  the  State's  credit  was 
much  impaired.  The  chief  exports  had  been  furs, 
sheep,  potash,  codfish,  lumber,  flaxseed,  oil,  and 
vessels.  The  war  had  paralyzed  trade;  there  was 
little  money;  business  was  transacted  by  barter, 
and  New  England  rum  went  a  long  way  toward 

[319] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


liquidating  obligations.1  Horses,  wagons,  oxen, 
cows,  and  farm  implements  were  seized  by  tax 
collectors  and  sold  at  auction  for  a  song.  Any 
thing  that  the  collector  left,  other  creditors  at 
tached.  Frequent  insolvencies  caused  endless 
prosecutions.  Unthinking  Patriots  considered 
taxation  an  insult  to  American  freedom.  Certain 
malcontents  held  a  socialistic  idea  of  wiping  out 
all  state  debts  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature;  and 
a  "society  for  the  avoidance  of  personal  obliga 
tions"  was  proposed.  Continental  paper  money 
so  depreciated  in  value  that  the  expression  was 
coined,  "not  worth  a  continental."  This  increase 
in  civil  actions  was  a  bonanza  to  the  legal  frater 
nity,  whose  unpopularity  had  its  head  and  front 
in  Attorney-General  Paine,  arch-lawyer  of  the 
State.3  It  was  not  his  office  to  show  mercy; 
he  must  see  the  laws  obeyed  and  violations  duly 
punished — an  ungrateful  task  at  best.  His  pres 
ence  was  minatory,  his  countenance  fulminant. 
Harsh  backbiters  charged  him  with  pitilessly 
following  criminals  to  the  jail  and  gallows,  and 
threatening  letters  were  tossed  over  his  fence  at 

1  Edward  Bellamy  in  the  Duke  of  Stockbridge  calls  the  rebel 
lion  a  "gentilities  war." 

2  Rhode  Island  issued  so  much  paper  money  that  it  came 
to  be  known  as  "Rogue  Island." 

3  The  town  of  Salisbury  sent  remonstrances  to  the  General 
Court  because  too  many  lawyers  were  drafting  the  Constitution 
of  1780. 

[   320  ] 


First  Attorney-General 


night.1  Popular  conventions  endeavored  to  thwart 
the  course  of  justice.  Outbreaks  occurred  in  va 
rious  parts  of  the  State  in  the  fall  of  I786.2  The 
leaders  were  captured  and  under  Paine's  prosecu 
tion  were  convicted,  but  were  pardoned  by  Gover 
nor  Bowdoin.  A  seditious  member  of  the  Legis 
lature  was  sentenced  to  sit  in  the  gallows  with  a 
rope  about  his  neck. 

Paine  was  on  a  committee  to  confer  with  Gov 
ernor  Bowdoin  on  the  alarming  situation.  Fore 
seeing  trouble  in  Taunton,  he  had  Dr.  Cobb  em 
powered  with  full  military  authority  to  deal  with 
the  crisis.  In  his  diary,  Paine  speaks  of  being  at 
Taunton  September  12, 1786,  during  the  outbreak, 
and  witnessing  the  dramatic  action  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  who  thus  threatened  the  mob  gathered 
under  command  of  David  Valentine,  "Away  with 
your  whining !  I  will  hold  this  court  if  I  hold  it  in 
blood."  That  was  on  a  rainy  day  in  September. 
In  October,  when  court  again  convened,  there 

1  In  1778,  Paine  had  the  unpleasant  duty  of  prosecuting 
Bathsheba    Spooner,     of    Worcester,    daughter   of   Timothy 
Ruggles,  for  instigating  the  murder  of  her  aged  husband  in  order 
that  she  could  marry  a  youthful  lover;   although  about  to  be 
come  a  mother  she  was  executed   before  a  large  concourse  — 
the  last  woman  to  receive  capital  punishment  in  Massachusetts. 

2  One  day  in  Worcester  the  Judges  thought  that  Birnam 
Wood  had  come  to  Dunsinane,  for  a  body  of  tatterdemalions 
besieged  the  court-house,  each  bearing  a  small  pine  tree  as  a 
badge  of  Liberty. 

[321] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


was  further  trouble.  A  double  line  of  soldiers  was 
drawn  up  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  Green,  and 
General  Cobb,  donning  his  old  regimentals,  brought 
out  "Old  Tobey,"  and  gave  his  order  to  the  rebels, 
"Cross  that  line  and  I  fire;  the  blood  be  upon 
your  head ! "  Paine's  diary  reads  thus : 

October  25,  at  noon,  mob  came  to  the  Green 
headed  by  David  Valentine;  in  numbers  about  140 
arrived.  They  paraded  on  south  side  of  Green  and  in 
the  afternoon  sent  in  a  petition  to  the  court,  finding 
the  militia  commanded  by  General  Cobb  to  be  about 
380  well  armed,  and  efficient  with  a  field-piece. 
Wheeler  with  his  party  marched  off  and  disbanded 
and  we  heard  no  more  of  them. 

October  29,  1786.  Superior  Court  of  Judicature 
held  at  Taunton.  Militia  came  from  Raynham, 
Bridgewater,  and  other  parts. 

Public  sentiment  triumphed  as  usual.  The 
rebellion  was  suppressed  without  serious  blood 
shed.  Soon  came  the  ratification  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  by  a  convention  in  which  Paine  was 
a  delegate.  In  politics,  a  man  not  only  finds 
strange  bedfellows,  but  turns  strange  somer 
saults.  To  make  a  Conservative  of  a  Radical, 
give  him  property  to  protect  or  an  office  of  re 
sponsibility.  As  a  young  man,  Paine  was  a  free 
lance  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the  multitude 
against  centralized  British  Government  (although 
at  heart  more  aristocratic  than  Tory  Leonard). 

[322] 


First  Attorney-General 


With  years  came  responsibility  and  caution.  Find 
ing  himself  with  a  family  to  provide  for  and  pro 
perty  to  protect  and  holding  high  office,  he  became 
a  Conservative  and  advocated  the  most  advanced 
measures  of  the  Federalists,  among  whom  there 
was  much  trepidation  lest  the  national  constitu 
tion  should  not  be  adopted,  so  strong  was  the 
opposition.1 

Paine  urged  upon  grand  jurors  the  protection 
of  property  and  individual  rights;  saw  to  it  that 
the  laws  were  duly  executed  for  the  support  of 
schools,  and  that  every  town  of  fifty  or  more  in 
habitants  maintained  a  school-house.  He  insisted 
that  religious  principles  were  a  necessary  found 
ation  for  morality  and  virtue,  and  that  the  in 
structions  of  a  learned  clergy  were  indispensable. 
He  backed  up  Governor  Hancock  in  his  effort  to 
suppress  Sheridan's  "School  for  Scandal,"  on  the 
ground  that  the  theatre  was  undermining  the 
character  of  the  people;  of  which  he  soon  had 
a  practical  illustration  coming  close  home  to 
him. 

Paine  was  a  reconstructionist.  He  had  as 
sisted  in  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  na 
tion  in  1776  and  in  establishing  a  state  constitu 
tion  in  1780.  Four  years  later,  he  was  one  of  a 
committee  in  Boston  to  recommend  a  change  in 

1  "  If  you  do  not  believe  in  a  central  common  union,  then  let 
Shay  be  made  Governor"  was  an  effective  argument. 

[323] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  municipal  government.  Two  plans  were  re 
ported;  one  for  a  mayor,  aldermen  and  council- 
men,  the  other  for  a  president  and  selectmen. 
The  people  overwhelmingly  rejected  both  plans 
—  they  had  not  forgotten  that  the  Revolution 
had  been  accomplished  under  the  town-meeting 
system  and  were  quite  satisfied  with  the  outcome 
of  that  struggle. 

The  bread-and-butter  problem  of  existence 
pressed  home  to  Paine  in  every  calculation.  While 
Attorney-General,  he  writes  to  Governor  Han 
cock  confessing  his  reduced  circumstances : 

To  his  Excellency  Governor  Hancock,  September 
11,  1787. 

R.  T.  Paine,  Attorney-General,  begs  leave  to 
represent  that  in  the  execution  of  his  office  he  must 
set  out  on  Monday  next  on  the  Western  Circuit  to 
attend  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  he 
feels  himself  unhappy  to  be  obliged  to  say  that  he 
cannot  command  money  enough  to  bear  his  ex 
penses  and  support  his  family  at  home  who  depend 
on  the  daily  expenditure  of  money  for  their  sub 
sistence,  etc. 

He  therefore  prays  your  excellency  and  honor  that 
a  warrant  may  be  granted  him  for  half  a  year's  ser 
vices  —  and  that  your  excellency  and  honor  would 
consider  the  necessity  of  his  being  paid  to  enable 
him  to  execute  his  office. 

[  324] 


First  Attorney-General 


From  his  wife's  family,  he  received  money  to  as 
sist  in  building  his  Taunton  home,  and  his  wife's 
sister,  Hannah,  paid  for  the  burial  lot  in  which  his 
son  was  laid.  He  claimed  that  he  never  received 
pay  for  services  in  the  confiscation  of  Tory  pro 
perty.  In  his  later  years  he  was  charged  with  mis 
appropriation  of  thirty  pounds  while  at  the  Con 
tinental  Congress.  Washington  himself  was  not 
immune  from  trumped-up  charges  of  peculation, 
and  when  Franklin  was  accused  with  extrava 
gance  in  having  spent  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
of  American  money,  during  his  services  for  the 
Revolution,  he  replied,  "Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn." 

After  thirteen  years'  service  in  helping  the 
infant  commonwealth  upon  its  feet,  Paine  felt 
that  he  should  occupy  a  position  of  more  dignity 
with  and  leisure  befitting  his  years.  To  John 
Adams  he  wrote: 

BOSTON,  April  13,  1789. 
MUCH  RESPECTED  FRIEND: 

When  we  were  going  to  the  first  Congress  our 
worthy  friend  Hawley  gave  us  in  writing  some  broken 
hints  —  I  take  liberty  to  imitate  him  in  the  method 
tho'  not  in  the  matter. 

I  intended  to  have  done  myself  the  great  pleasure 
to  wait  on  you  at  Braintree  for  the  benefit  of  so 
cial  conversation,  but  innumerable  Accidents  have 
prevented.  I  wish  to  Communicate  a  few  Ideas  re- 

[325] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


specting  my  Official  Situation,  and  hope  this  method 
may  not  be  disagreeable. 

I  have  toiled  in  public  business  from  the  first 
movings  of  the  Revolution  with  all  my  Exertions 
of  mind  and  body,  eleven  Years  in  my  present 
Office,  and  what  with  the  difficulties  of  the  time, 
and  the  contracted  Ideas  some  Influential  men 
have  of  Supporting  public  Officers,  I  have  spent 
my  well-earned  monies  I  had  on  Loan  for  the  neces 
sary  Support  of  my  family,  and  in  lieu  thereof  have 
demands  on  Government  which  bear  no  Interest 
and  which  I  receive  in  a  manner  too  scanty  for  my 
Support  —  twice  have  I  been  honored  with  an  ap 
pointment  to  the  Sup.  Court,  the  first  while  at 
Congress  I  declined  because  I  thought  I  could  be 
more  Serviceable  (in  our  precarious  State)  in  the 
political  line,  —  when  I  returned  from  Congress 
in  '77  I  accepted  the  present  Office,  on  the  Unex 
pected  Call  of  Government,  because  I  saw  it  was 
necessary  for  the  Existence  of  the  Commonwealth, 
that  it  should  be  executed  in  the  manner  which  I 
have  endeavored,  and  every  Lawyer  who  was  cap 
able  was  immersed  in  more  profitable  business  —  I 
cannot  describe  the  fatigue  of  it,  nothing  but  a 
Sense  of  Honor  and  Duty  prevented  my  resigning 
-  in  '83  I  was  honored  with  an  appointment  to  the 
Sup.  Jud.  bench  which  I  declined  because  I  hoped 
my  Office  would  have  yielded  me  more  income  which 
my  family  wanted  than  a  Judgeship,  but  I  have  been 
sadly  disappointed,  and  have  the  mortification  to 
find  myself  outranked  by  all  my  juniors  in  Politicks, 

[326] 


First  Attorney-General 


and  having  no  Income  to  recompense  it,  and  drudg 
ing  in  an  Office  which,  tho'  of  essential  importance 
to  the  Government,  I  have  been  out  of  the  line  of 
public  notice,  and  am  not  without  Appreciation 
that  the  change  of  Government  may  still  further 
reduce  me  —  I  have  not  sought  Popularity  but 
endeavoured  to  do  my  duty,  expecting  that  this 
which  first  brought  me  into  notice  would  continue 
me  in  it  — 

My  age,  abilities,  political  pretensions,  of  all 
which  you  will  judge  for  yourself,  make  me  wish 
for  some  Station  less  exposed  to  drudgery  and  fatigue 
than  that  I  am  in,  but  my  Family  Circumstances 
oblige  me  to  attend  to  that  income.  If  a  Judgeship, 
or  quam  dies  office  should  turn  up  it  would  suit 
me  better  than  the  one  I  am  in,  and  if  I  should  be 
appointed  to  this  with  reasonable  support  I  shall 
be  thankful  —  I  do  not  mean  to  solicit  anything 
improperly,  and  if  I  should,  I  am  sure  it  would  have 
no  effect  on  you  —  I  present  these  observations 
because  I  have  always  known  you  attentive  to  a 
Propriety  of  Conduct  and  desirous  of  a  state  of 
facts,  and  I  have  no  other  wishes  than  that  as  Op 
portunity  offers  you  would  do  respecting  the  premises 
what  you  think  proper  to  be  done.  I  think  General 
Washington  cannot  have  forgotten  me,  my  Vote, 
when  he  took  charge  of  our  Army  to  support  him 
with  life  and  fortune  and  my  signing  the  Charter 
of  our  Independence  —  it  would  be  galling  to  me 
to  find  that  those  who  in  the  times  of  greatest  dan 
ger  were  acting  a  questionable  part,  should  now  catch 

[  327  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  bird  from  the  bush  which  I  have  beaten  —  but 
I  will  trouble  you  no  more,  but  wishing  you  health 
and  all  happiness, 

Subscribe  your  friend  and  Servant 

R.  T.  PAINE. 

P.S.    If  there  is  Occasion  for  any  particular  in 
formation,  pray  favour  me  with  a  line. 


CHAPTER  XX 
A  Supreme  Court  justice 

Use  every  man  after  his  desert,  and  who  should  'scape  whipping. 

Hamlet. 

ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  once  remarked 
that  he  was  never  contented  unless  he  had 
three  good  friends  to  love  and  three  bad 
enemies  to  hate.  Paine  was  a  strong  admirer  of 
Hamilton's  scheme  for  a  centralized  government 
and  a  national  bank,  and  impatiently  awaited 
the  stage-coach  bringing  the  weekly  "Federalist," 
to  read  the  contributions  from  the  fine  mind  of 
"Publius."  Paine  was  somewhat  akin  to  the 
"Little  Lion,"  for  he  had  the  hot  temper  which 
goes  with  black  eyes.  Although  a  London  magazine, 
inspired  by  vindictive  Loyalists,  spoke  of  him  as 
"a  weak,  insignificant  tool  of  Sam  Adams";  and 
in  the  next  breath  says,  "John  Adams  spoiled 
an  able  ploughman,  porter,  or  butcher."  Without 
the  acumen  and  initiative  of  Hamilton,  he  was 
not  so  positive  a  force  to  win  strong  friends, 
and  make  fierce  enemies.  Paine  held  aloof  from 
bosom  companionship.  Not  only  was  he  wanting 
in  genial  personal  inagnetism,  but  he  lacked  the 
[  329  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


lodestone  of  an  overflowing  purse,  which  Leonard 
found  effective  in  drawing  a  circle  about  him. 
Paine's  office  of  Attorney-General  was  one  to 
bring  him  more  foes  than  friends.  He  was  not  al 
ways  careful  to  veil  his  opinions,  and  he  had  a  taste 
for  controversy  in  politics  and  religion.  He  dis 
covered  an  intriguing  correspondence  between 
Thomas  Gushing  and  John  Adams,  which  dis 
closed  an  attempt  to  supplant  him  in  the  good 
opinion  of  his  constituents.  There  were  intervals 
in  his  life  when  relations  were  strained  between 
him  and  James  Warren  and  Judge  Dana,  as 
well  as  with  Daniel  Leonard.  When  we  call  the 
roll  of  his  intimate  friends,  we  find:  John  Han 
cock,  William  Gushing  (the  only  one  of  the  last 
five  Provincial  Judges  who  held  to  the  Patriot 
side);  Samuel  Eliot,  great-grandfather  of  Pres 
ident  Eliot;  General  Palmer,  Col.  Orne,  Richard 
Cranch,  Increase  Sumner,  Dr.  Cobb,  and  Oliver 
Wendell,  with  whom  he  frequently  dined  on 
July  4.  The  intimacy  between  the  Paine  and 
Hancock  families  existed  in  earlier  generations 
—  the  fathers  of  John  and  Robert  had  preached 
in  adjoining  parishes,  Braintree  and  Weymouth, 
occasionally  exchanging  pulpits.  Both  the  boys 
attended  the  Boston  Latin  School  and  Harvard 
College;  both  were  sons  of  ministers;  both  tardy 
in  marrying;  both  members  of  the  Legislature 
and  of  the  Continental  Congress.  When  Hancock 
[  330  ] 


A  Supreme  Court  Justice 

wrote  his  name  on  the  Declaration  "big  enough 
for  King  George  to  see  across  the  Atlantic,"  Paine 
saw  to  it  that  his  name,  crowding  close  up  to  that 
of  the  presiding  officer,  was  second  in  bigness. 
These  two  men  were  much  together,  travelling, 
dining,  legislating,  and  many  a  time  walked  side 
by  side  as  pall-bearers  for  departed  comrades.1 

Hancock,  as  Governor,  appointed  his  friend  a 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Paine  had  pre 
viously  declined  this  honor.  In  1775,  after  the 
overthrow  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature, 
a  new  bench  was  chosen  of  which  Paine  was  a 
member;  but  when  he  heard  that  John  Adams  was 
to  be  Chief  Justice,  and  he,  five  years  older,  to 
play  second  fiddle,  he  made  excuses,  and  found 
his  services  of  greater  value  to  his  country  at 
Philadelphia.  Governor  Hancock  first  appointed 
Paine  to  the  bench  in  1783 ;  but  he  then  preferred 
to  continue  as  Attorney-General  on  the  plea  that 
the  salary  of  Judge  was  too  small.  The  position 
was  again  tendered  in  1790.  This  time  Paine 
found  plenty  of  reasons  for  accepting.  Accord 
ingly,  he  donned  the  scarlet  and  black  robe  and 
white-topped  boots  so  noticeable  when  the  Court 
marched  through  the  streets  of  Boston.2 

1  Judge  Paine  made  his  last  appearance  in  the  great  court 
wig  on  the  occasion  of  Hancock's  funeral. 

2  Judge  Dana  had  been  minister  to  Russia  and  brought  back 
the  Muscovite  habit  of  protecting  his  fingers  in  a  muff  and  wore 

[331  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


He  brought  abundant  qualifications  to  his  new 
office.  The  practical,  bred  of  experience,  and  the 
instinctive  ideal  were  united  in  him.  He  was  as 
sociated  with  Judges  Sargent,  Sedgwick,  Dana, 
Sumner,  and  Gushing.  Every  October,  Paine 
came  to  Taunton,  to  receive  a  welcome  from  old 
friends  and  sit  as  Judge  in  the  Court-House, 
which  he  had  frequented  as  barrister  and  Attorney- 
General.  As  we  see  him  in  flowing  robes  standing 
meditatively  in  bronze  before  the  City  Hall,  so 
we  may  picture  him  in  corpore  crossing  the  Com 
mon  to  enter  the  old  Court-House,  which  he  and 
Daniel  Leonard  had  been  the  committee  to  build 
in  their  humbler  days.  As  justice  in  eyre,  he  was 
obliged  to  make  a  round  of  circuits  to  various  parts 
of  Massachusetts,  which  then  included  Maine. 
In  March,  1800,  Judge  Paine  speaks  of  riding  his 
circuit  when  the  roads  were  "flooded  belly-deep 
to  a  horse."  It  was  a  dreaded  annoyance  to  make 
the  long  journey  to  Maine,  and  the  judges  found 
curious  excuses  in  their  efforts  to  shirk  this  duty. 
Beneath  the  calm  exterior  of  judicial  gravity 
volcanic  fires  were  smouldering,  as  the  following 
letters  bear  witness : 

a  white  corduroy  surtout  lined  with  fur.  His  high-heeled  shoes 
lifted  him  to  a  scant  five  feet  in  stature,  and  he  appeared  so 
grotesque  in  his  gaudy  apparel  that  the  court  soon  discarded 
the  red  gown  for  the  sable  one  in  which  judges  becloud  them 
selves  to-day. 

[332] 


A  Supreme  Court  Justice 

IPSWICH,  June  24,  1796. 

SIR: 

I  am  not  about  to  solicit  any  favors  of  you ;  I  too 
well  know  the  gratification  you  would  receive  in 
refusing  it  if  I  should.  My  present  design  is  to  state 
a  few  circumstances  for  your  consideration.  Two 
years  successively,  if  I  mistake  not,  you  requested 
to  be  excused  from  the  eastern  circuit,  on  account 
of  two  of  your  sons  graduating.  I  freely  acquiesced 
in  the  proposition,  not  only  because  I  foresaw  I 
should  wish  a  reasonable  indulgence  on  a  similar 
occasion.  That  time  has  now  come.  Judge  Sumner 
had  already  been  called  off  by  the  death  of  his 
mother.  Whether  he  will  go  to  York  is  uncertain. 
Your  presence  there  as  well  as  in  the  lower  counties 
will  become  necessary  if  he  should  not  return. 

I  have  understood  (not  from  what  passed  be 
tween  us  only)  that  you  have  intended  to  absent 
yourself  from  this  term  and  York  term  also,  and 
so  oblige  me  to  attend  both.  Now  if  such  continues 
to  be  your  design,  I  give  you  reasonable  notice  that 
I  shall  return  home  from  this  place  and  shall  not 
go  on  to  York,  or  either  of  the  lower  counties.  You 
will  act  your  pleasure. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

F.  P.  DANA. 

Paine  sent  back  this  Roland  for  his  Oliver: 

BOSTON,  July  26,  1796. 
SIR: 

It  is  very  disagreeable  to  me  on  many  accounts 
that  I  find  myself  under  a  necessity  of  remarking 

[333] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


on  y'r  very  extraordinary  letter,  and  lest  you  may 
have  forgotten  the  first  sentence  which  seems  to 
be  the  principle  that  dictated  the  whole,  I  copy 
it,  in  these  words.  .  .  .  The  rankness,  coarseness, 
groundless  assertion  of  this  introduction  are  as 
tounding.  When  you  can  recollect  any  conduct  of 
mine  that  bears  any  resemblance  of  a  want  of  re 
spect  and  a  disposition  to  serve  you  as  far  as  I  could 
consistent  with  the  duty  I  owe  to  myself  and  family, 
I  sincerely  wish  you  to  make  it  known  to  me  and  if 
the  charge  seems  to  be  well  supported  I  shall  cer 
tainly  repent  and  set  about  a  reformation. 

Judge  Paine  then  refers  to  records  to  show  that 
he  had  been  as  faithful  as  Dana  and  explicitly 
explains  why  he  wishes  to  be  absent  from  York 
court.  He  continues: 

Had  you  given  any  reason  for  not  attending  at 
York,  I  should  have  listened  to  it,  but  to  be  told  in 
so  unjustified  a  manner  that  you  would  not  attend  at 
York  is  a  mode  of  conduct  that  neither  profits  nor 
pleases.  When  you  point  any  error  in  this  state 
ment  I  shall  attend  to  it;  till  then  I  must  submit 
that  nothing  in  that  occurrence  can  justify  the 
sentiment  and  style  of  y'r  letter. 

Then  follows  a  precise  statement  of  absences 
of  both  judges  taken  from  the  records  —  of  no 
advantage  to  Dana.  Paine  shows  how  he  is  hard- 
pressed  to  support  a  large  family  and  concludes : 

There  are  other  matters  also  worthy  of  your  at- 

[334] 


A  Supreme  Court  Justice 

tention  which  at  present  I  do  not  mention,  but  rest 
these  matters  for  your  consideration,  hoping  you 
will  acquit  me  of  the  grievous  charges  you  have 
brought  against  me  and  that  it  will  prove  to  have 
been  the  production  of  a  momentary  impulse. 
I  am  yours  very  respectfully, 
R.  T.  PAINE. 

A  more  humorous  episode  occurred  in  Maine. 
Paine  had  been  on  the  bench  but  a  year  when, 
with  Justice  Sumner,  the  Attorney-General,  the 
Clerk  of  Courts  and  his  friend,  the  French  Con 
sul,  he  was  going  from  Portland  to  Pownals- 
burgh.  The  court  adjourned  at  Portland  on  Fri 
day  and,  to  reach  Pownalsburgh  on  Tuesday,  they 
jogged  along  while  the  folks  of  Freeport  were  at 
Sunday  meeting.  The  procession  would  have 
slipped  by  unnoticed  had  not  the  Frenchman, 
who  rode  in  a  "chair,"  trotted  down  into  the 
heart  of  the  town  in  search  of  the  hairdresser  with 
the  result  that  his  vehicle  broke  down,  causing 
a  delay  which  attracted  attention.  The  warden 
came  out,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  arrested  the  whole  company  for 
wilfully  profaning  the  Lord's  Day.  In  vain  the 
Judge  and  Attorney-General  pleaded  that  it  was 
a  case  of  necessity.  They  represented  that  the 
roads  were  bad,  the  time  was  short,  and  the 
weather  inclement;  that  there  was  a  case  of  mur 
der  on  trial,  and  unless  they  arrived  in  time  it 
[  335  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


would  be  postponed  a  year.  The  officious  war 
den,  to  gratify  his  own  caprice,  refused  to  be  si 
lenced.  The  party  was  at  length  allowed  to  pass 
on,  but  the  Frenchman's  popularity  was  under  a 
temporary  cloud. 

When  the  court  at  Pownalsburgh  came  to  ad 
journ,  Paine  went  out  to  the  row  of  sheds  behind 
the  town  house,  and  in  the  stall  where  he  had  left 
his  horse  he  found  a  similar-looking  steed,  but  of 
inferior  speed  and  value.  Some  careless  citizen 
had  exchanged  horses  while  the  court  was  in  ses 
sion,  and  was  already  beyond  recall.  "Maybe 
you  think  more  of  my  chaise  now?"  said  the 
Frenchman,  shrugging  his  shoulders,  as,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  he  invited  Paine  to  take  a  seat 
in  his  carriage  for  the  rest  of  the  journey. 

The  judges  were  fined  a  round  sum  for  their 
Sabbath-breaking  and  at  once  prepared  a  long 
memorial  to  the  General  Court,  which  has  been 
preserved,  stating  that  they  had  as  "much  respect 
for  the  Sabbath,  as  the  Christian  religion  re 
quired";  that  they  were  the  persons  to  decide 
whether  the  case  was  one  of  necessity;  and  if  they 
thought  for  a  moment  they  had  broken  the  law, 
they  would  have  paid  the  fine.  Paine  was  cha 
grined  to  think  that,  having  been  instrumental 
in  drafting  the  Sunday  law,  he  should  be  charged 
with  breaking  it.  To  protect  the  court  from  mor 
tification,  the  Sunday  laws  relating  to  travelling 

[336] 


A  Supreme  Court  Justice 

were  repealed,   and  the  indictment  against  the 
court  was  annulled. 

At  Plymouth,  a  society  had  been  formed  which 
annually  celebrated  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  and  at  its  meetings  Leonard  and  Paine 
were  frequent  guests,  both  having  Pilgrim  an 
cestry.  Its  festival  was  colloquially  known  as 
the  "Feast  of  Shells."  J  The  name  was  derived 
from  the  fact  that  the  company  first  attempted  to 
take  their  soup  with  cockle-shells,  after  the  pio 
neer  fashion.  They  speedily  discovered  that  these 
utensils  were  spoiling  too  many  satin  breeches,  and 
therefore  called  for  silver  spoons ;  although  appear 
ances  of  luxury  were  supposed  to  be  avoided 
in  imitation  of  the  worthy  ancestors.  This  feast 
was  transferred  to  Boston  after  the  Revolution. 
Judge  Paine  always  attended  and  joined  in  the 
post-prandial  chorus.  "The  Independent  Chron 
icle"  December  30,  1802,  commenting  on  the 
convivial  features  of  the  occasion,  said  that  one 
of  the  thirty-one  speakers  was  introduced  by  the 
popular  song,  "Go  to  the  Devil  and  Shake  Your 
self,"  —  adding: 

This  is  a  pretty  ditty  for  the  Sons  of  our  pious 

1  A  contemporary  says  of  it:  "It  was  become  fashionable 
of  late  for  a  few  of  the  rich  and  well-born  gentry  to  celebrate 
what  they  call  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  our  forefathers 
at  Cape  Cod  and  Plymouth.  Not  out  of  new-fangledness,  or 
other  such  like  giddie  humor,  but  for  sundrie,  weightie,  and  solid 
reasons." 

[337] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Forefathers  —  what  an  appearance  must  General 
Lincoln  and  Judge  Paine  make  in  company  with 
Stephen  Higginson,  Fisher  Ames,  Timothy  Picker 
ing,  Dr.  Parker,  and  Rev.  Mr.  John  Gardiner,  etc., 
etc.,  while  attentively  listening  to  the  music  of  "Go 
to  the  Devil  and  Shake  Yourself."  This  is  piety 
with  a  vengeance. 

In  his  later  years,  Paine  was  subject  to  fits  of 
abstraction.  Never  gifted  with  the  elegance  and 
suavity  which  endeared  Colonel  Leonard  to  his 
associates,  he  earned  the  sobriquet  of  "Ursus 
Major"  among  the  young  lawyers.  As  deafness 
shut  him  off  from  the  world  and  old  age  pressed 
upon  him,  he  became  arbitrary.  The  manners  of 
the  bench  at  that  time  were  not  wholly  Chester- 
fieldian.  Fisher  Ames  once  unfeelingly  remarked 
that  to  practise  before  the  Supreme  Court  a 
lawyer  should  carry  a  club  and  an  ear-trumpet. 
After  serving  fourteen  years,  Paine's  increasing 
infirmity  compelled  him  to  resign.  Upon  his  re 
tirement,  in  1804,  his  several  titles  were  aug 
mented  by  an  honorary  LL.D.  from  Harvard. 
He  had  been  addressed  successively  as  Captain, 
Reverend,  Squire,  and  Judge;  now  he  was  com 
plimented  with  the  title  of  Doctor. 


nr 


CHAPTER   XXI 
Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 

But  Daniel  sat  in  the  gate  of  the  king.  —  Dan.  11:49. 

HE  scene  now  shifts  across  the  Atlantic. 


Enter  Leonard,  a  coach  passenger,  his 
-*-  eyes  feasting  on  the  novel  sights,  as  he 
rides  from  Falmouth  up  to  the  capital  of  the 
British  Empire  through  the  thrifty,  well-kept 
farms  of  southern  England.  August  12,  1776,  he 
first  sets  foot  in  London.  Now  at  last  Daniel 
finds  himself  in  the  den  of  the  friendly  British 
Lion.  He  has  passed  four  anxious  months  in  fog 
bound  Halifax.  He  has  learned  of  the  forthcoming 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Apprehensive,  he 
has  set  sail  for  England  to  ascertain  the  prob 
able  outcome,  leaving  his  family  in  Halifax.  While 
he  is  crossing  the  ocean,  the  umbilical  cord  of 
the  colonies  is  severed.  Arrived  in  London,  he 
seeks  out  his  friends,  Hutchinson,  Oliver,  Sewall, 
Browne,  and  other  intimates,  who,  not  insensible 
to  their  situation,  greet  him  with  a  smile  which 
seems  to  say,  "Well,  here  we  are  again!"  But 
the  veneer  of  forced  mirth  covers  misgivings  deep 
and  sore.  With  other  New  England  fugitives, 
many  of  them  "grass  widowers,"  he  frequents  the 
[  339  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Adelphi  Tavern  on  the  Strand,  and  the  New  Eng 
land  Coffee  House  in  Threadneedle  Street,  where 
every  Friday  afternoon  there  is  a  dinner  party  at 
which  American  affairs  are  discussed  by  a  rump 
Congress.1 

These  Tories,  shortening  sail,  lived  in  "shabby- 
genteel"  quarters  at  Brompton  Row,  Kensington, 
and  only  by  rigid  economy  could  they  preserve 
a  respectable  exterior.  They  had  small  source 
of  income,  and  were  little  more  than  remittance- 
men  awaiting  drafts  from  America.  Leonard,  for 
example,  indulged  in  no  new  raiment,  was  abste 
mious  in  food  and  drink,  borrowed  newspapers, 
and  sought  invitations  to  dinner.  He  could  not 
take  snuff  with  the  big-wigs ;  did  not  find  the  doors 
of  high  society  open  to  him;  nor  was  there  a  warm 
welcome  in  smaller  social  circles,  as  at  home.  He 
could  not  appear  to  advantage  at  Almack's  or 
Newmarket,  or  cut  a  good  figure  at  Bath  or  Rane- 

1  The  New  England  Club  formed  in  London,  January,  1776, 
included:  Richard  Clark,  Joseph  Green,  Jonathan  Bliss,  Jona 
than  Sewall,  Joseph  Waldo,  S.  S.  Blowers,  Elisha  Hutchinson, 
William  Hutchinson,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Samuel  Sewall, 
Samuel  Curwen,  Samuel  Quincy,  Rev.  Isaac  Smith,  Harrison 
Gray,  David  Greene,  Jonathan  Clark,  Thomas  Flucker  (once 
secretary  of  the  assembly),  Joseph  Taylor,  Daniel  Silsbee, 
Thomas  Branley,  William  Cabot,  John  S.  Copley  (the  painter), 
Nathaniel  Coffin,  Samuel  Porter,  Edward  Oxhard,  Benjamin 
Pickman,  John  Amory,  Judge  Robert  Auchmuty,  Major  Urqu- 
hart,  Colonel  Saltonstall,  Sir  William  Pepperrell,  Colonel 
Daniel  Leonard,  William  Browne,  Colonel  Thomas  Brattle. 

[   340  ] 


Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 

lagh,  so  slender  was  his  purse.  He  found  himself 
neither  fish  nor  flesh  nor  good  red  herring. 

In  America,  these  exiles  had  been  wealthy  and 
successful;  their  lives  passed  in  dignified  occupa 
tions.  In  England,  they  were  nobodies  anxiously 
waiting  for  the  war  at  home  to  cease.  Very  few 
could  kiss  the  hand  of  their  sovereign  at  state 
levees,  and  they  listened  intently  to  Hutchin- 
son's  account  of  royalty,  happy  if  he  gave  them 
an  entree  to  court  circles.  Leonard,  having  time 
on  his  hands,  bethought  himself  to  look  up  his 
family  connections.  He  hunted  out  Lord  Dacre, 
a  Leonard,  with  whom  he  searched  up  and  down 
the  branches  of  their  family  tree.  Consanguinity 
was  acknowledged  with  proper  ceremony  and 
libation.  Rumor  whispered  that  a  baronetcy  was 
offered  Daniel.  When  the  story  reached  Taunton 
that  Leonard  had  spurned  this  offer,  the  towns 
people  shook  their  heads  —  they  knew  his  weak 
nesses  too  well. 

Eagerly  the  Tories  read  newspaper  advices  from 
America;  the  British  victories  of  Long  Island, 
White  Plains,  Fort  Lee,  Fort  Washington,  the 
capture  of  New  York,  elated  them.  They  passed 
the  gilded  snuff-box,  sneezed  in  contempt  of  Amer 
ican  Whigs,  and  grew  hilarious  over  their  punch 
and  claret.  ,What  could  the  raw  Provincials  do 
against  the  well-disciplined  troops  of  Sir  William 
Howe  and  Clinton?  They  maligned  the  Patriot 

[341] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


leaders  —  Sam  Adams  was  light-fingered,  em 
bezzling  the  town  funds;  Hancock  was  a  "pea 
cock,"  defaulting  as  treasurer  of  Harvard;  Paul 
Revere  had  stolen  silver  plate;  Paine  was  the 
"upstart  son  of  a  broken-down  minister";  John 
Adams  was  soured  against  the  Government  be 
cause  he  had  failed  to  get  a  Crown  appointment. 
They  pitied  the  discomfiture  of  "King  Hancock," 
one  of  their  own  kind,  accustomed  as  he  had  been 
to  good  society.  One  exile  had  brought  away  a 
half-bushel  of  the  paper  Continental  currency. 
This  they  rolled  into  pipe-spills  to  light  their 
meerschaums.  Ha!  ha!  they  laughed,  tossing  the 
half-burnt  money  upon  the  floor,  —  Washington 
would  soon  be  hanged,  and  those  ragged  Patriots 
would  be  best  off  who  could  run  the  fastest.  As 
for  the  United  Colonies,  —  a  democracy,  they 
sneered,  is  a  government  in  which  the  lowest  rule. 
When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  an 
nounced,  they  prophesied  that  internal  disputes, 
rivalries,  and  jealousies  would  soon  bring  them 
all  back  into  Great  Britain's  arms.  "As  well  have 
thirteen  tomcats  in  a  bag  for  harmony,"  said 
Sewall.  "Ho!  ho!  ho!"  they  roared,  slapping  one 
another  on  the  back,  and  emptied  bumpers  to 
great  King  George.  But  the  King  took  down  his 
Bible  and  read  in  Isaiah  i:  2:  "I  have  nourished 
children  and  brought  them  up,  and  even  they 
have  revolted  from  me." 

[342] 


II          x/^ 

Tiv     *&£U£\/ 


r/^lftj,  T*aB39» 

•'   i  )>^4^e-^X- 

'"'v      .0  ''$?:&&&&& 


^^m3^m^ 

^f^i^^^ 


S 

2  | 

S  I 


Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 


When  Leonard  heard  that  Paine  was  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  he  pictured  him,  the  rebel, 
swinging  from  the  gallows.  Very  soon  after 
Paine,  as  Attorney-General,  was  empowered  to 
prepare  such  a  reception  for  Leonard  should  he 
venture  to  return  to  Massachusetts.1 

They  played  basset,  chess,  and  quadrille  in  the 
evenings,  for  very  small  stakes,  and  drank  suc 
cess  to  Clinton,  Burgoyne,  and  the  Hessian  mer 
cenaries,  and  confusion  to  Washington's  army. 
When  they  read  of  Steuben,  Pulaski,  Lafayette, 
DeKalb,  and  Kosciusko  hastening  to  the  aid  of 
the  rebels,  and  learned  of  the  battle  of  Saratoga, 
a  flush  of  alarm  spread  over  their  brows.  Under 
neath  affected  jollity  they  were  in  reality  a  dis 
mal  company.  Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick.  They  formed  a  constant  companionship 
through  tastes  and  affinities  as  well  as  kindred 
misfortunes.  Having  little  to  do  they  met  often 
to  exchange  hopes  and  fears  and  scan  the  latest 

1  Jonathan  Sewall,  former  crony  of  Paine,  now  boon  com 
panion  of  Leonard,  wrote  home  to  their  mutual  friend,  Gerry: 

Could  you  form  a  just  idea  of  the  immense  wealth  and  power  of  the 
British  nation,  you  would  tremble  at  the  foolish  action  of  your  petty 
States.  I  feel  for  the  misery  hastening  on  my  countrymen,  but  they 
must  think  this  our  folly.  I  am  confident  that  the  glorious  period  is 
hastening  when  you  will  be  emancipated  from  the  tyrannical,  arbitrary 
government  under  which  you  have  for  some  time  groaned  —  a  gov 
ernment  for  cruelty  and  ferocity  not  to  be  equalled  by  any  but  of  the 
lower  regions,  where  the  Prince  of  Darkness  is  President,  and  has  in  his 
custody  a  number  of  rebels  who  are  secured  in  chains  awaiting  the 
great  judgement  day. 

[343  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


news.  The  Dark  Day  in  America  (May  17,  1780) 
caused  a  transient  jubilation.  The  exiled  Tories 
seized  upon  this  phenomenon  as  an  omen  of  dis 
aster  to  the  Colonists.  They  declared  that  it  was 
the  Devil  spreading  his  wings  over  the  northern 
rebels ;  that  if  they  did  not  repent,  the  next  time 
he  would  certainly  fly  off  with  them  all. 

Every  few  weeks  they  attended  the  funeral  of 
one  of  their  number;  and  death,  pressing  home 
upon  them,  bound  them  more  closely  together. 
When  these  former  leaders  of  Massachusetts 
society  saw  their  old  neighbors,  Hancock,  the 
Adamses,  Gerry,  Paine,  Warren,  Bowdoin,  and 
Gushing,  taking  their  places,  they  squirmed  in 
protest,  though  they  had  no  idea  of  shedding 
blood  to  support  their  cause,  but  would  let  the 
hired  Hessians  put  down  this  rebellion  of  the  pro 
letariat.  Lordly  mastiffs  should  never  contend 
with  low-bred  hounds.  The  flower  of  New  Eng 
land  stood  in  line  every  quarter  to  receive  minis 
terial  bounty.  Homesickness,  the  most  mordant 
of  human  ills,  was  eating  their  hearts.1  Feeding 
the  mind  on  jealousy,  wrath,  and  disappointment 
starves  the  body.  Leonard,  separated  from  his 
family,  without  funds,  and  having  no  employment, 

1  S.  Curwen,  of  Salem,  wrote  home  that  he  had  abandoned 
his  dwelling,  his  friends  and  means  of  living,  which  he  might 
have  retained  on  the  condition  of  insults  and  a  dress  of  tar 
and  feathers  —  "an  alternative  much  to  be  preferred  to  the 
distress  of  mind  I  am  daily  suffering." 

[  344  1 


Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 

fell  critically  ill,  and  for  several  weeks  was  con 
fined  to  his  bed,  cared  for  by  sympathetic  exiles. 
What  a  pang  of  humiliation  to  be  so  miserable, 
lost  and  unknown  in  this  great  metropolis,  he 
who  had  been  so  grand  in  his  Taunton  home! 
Hutchinson,  the  only  American  who  could  afford 
to  give  a  dinner  worth  a  crown,  occasionally  in 
vited  him  to  his  table  —  and  Leonard,  financially 
worn  down  to  skin  and  bone,  was  punctual  in  ac 
ceptance.1  Revisited  the  Abbey  and  the  Museum, 
the  "Cheshire  Cheese,"  to  catch  sight  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  Garrick,  Gainsborough,  Sheri 
dan;  and  St.  Clement's  Church,  where  Dr.  John 
son  sat  in  his  well-worn  pew.2  He  went  to  the 
playhouse  to  see  Kitty  Clive,  the  actress;  heard 
the  famous  Mr.  Duche,  who  had  opened  the  Amer 
ican  Congress  with  prayer,  and  was  now  preach 
ing  in  London;  attended  the  Disputing  Club  at 
the  King's  Arms ;  looked  in  at  Copley's  studio  to 
see  him  painting  his  own  family;  and  discussed  the 
tragic  murder  of  Miss  Ray,  the  paramour  of  Lord 
Sandwich,  by  a  frenzied  admirer.  Adam  Smith's 
"Wealth  of  Nations"  presented  a  proposition  of 
seats  in  Parliament  for  Americans,  and  opened  up 

1  Hutchinson,  looking  wistfully  back  to  his  old  home,  wrote 
that  "  New  England  was  written  upon  his  heart  as  Calais  was 
upon  Queen  Mary's." 

2  The  latter  having  the  dictionary  at  his  discretion  was  the 
editor  of  all  conversation,  and  had  written  "Taxation  No  Ty 
ranny  ";  he  was  a  man  to  challenge  Leonard's  attention. 

[345] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


a  new  prospect  of  acquiring  importance  to  men 
of  bounding  ambition  like  Leonard. 

Of  course,  Leonard  could  not  secure  a  seat;  he 
was  too  poor  to  buy  a  borough,  and  what  cared  the 
people  of  England  for  Americans  anyway  ?  The  no 
bility  considered  them  a  "  low,  filthy,  commercial 
people."  Among  the  masses  the  suspicion  had  not 
wholly  worn  off  that  they  wore  feathers  in  their 
hair,  moccasins  on  their  feet,  and  carried  toma 
hawks  and  scalps  dangling  from  their  belts.  An 
American  artist,  Benjamin  West,  apotheosized 
the  Loyalists  in  a  celebrated  painting,  wherein 
America  is  first  personified  as  an  Indian.  Leonard 
could  sit  in  the  gallery  at  Westminster,  applaud 
ing  Lord  Shelburne  pleading  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  mother  country  over  the 
colonies  at  any  sacrifice;  but  his  courage  fell  when 
Rockingham  and  the  Duke  of  Richmond  argued 
that  it  was  impossible  to  subdue  the  rebel  colonists, 
and  urged  that  Great  Britain  should  acknowledge 
their  independence  with  the  best  grace  possible. 
He  listened  to  Burke,  Barre,  Erskine;  and  Chat 
ham  exclaiming  that  "he  would  never  lay  down  his 
arms,  never!  never!!  never!!!"  Daniel  had  long 
known  that  interference  with  sensitive  English 
trade  was  arousing  a  back-fire  against  the  war. 
At  the  opening  of  Parliament  in  1778  after  Sara 
toga,  the  Government  began  to  hold  out  the  olive 
branch,  but  the  Americans  would  not  parley  with 

[346] 


Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 

the  English  commissioners,  and  the  breach  was 
widened  by  the  sailing  of  a  French  fleet  to  succor 
them.  The  two  subjects  ever  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  the  anxious  exiles  were  the  progress  of 
the  war,  and  their  own  chances  of  having  their 
personal  losses  made  good  by  government  pen 
sions.  In  1778,  Leonard  heard  that  he  was  pro 
scribed,  among  others,  and  prohibited  from  re 
turning  to  Massachusetts  on  pain  of  death.  In 
1779,  when  reverses  came  thick  and  fast  to  the 
King's  troops,  a  delegation  made  up  of  one  from 
each  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  Leonard  represent 
ing  Massachusetts,  secured  an  audience  with  the 
King,  to  impress  upon  him  their  distresses.  The 
King  in  an  address  to  Parliament  said: 

I  trust  that  you  will  agree  with  me  that  a  due  and 
generous  attention  ought  to  be  shown  to  those  who 
have  relinquished  their  property  and  possessions 
from  loyalty  to  me  or  attachment  to  their  mother 
country. 

Lord  Townshend,  Secretary  of  State,  wrote: 

This  country  would  feel  itself  bound  in  honor  to 
make  the  Loyalists  full  compensation  for  their 
losses. 

And  to  the  credit  of  the  Crown  it  should  be 
said  that  several  million  pounds  were  thus  ex 
pended.  In  1782,  Parliament  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  examine  these  claims.  By  their  deci- 

[347] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


sion  in  June,  1783,  about  $250,000  was  annually 
apportioned  among  687  accredited  pensioners. 
This  number  was  increased  to  2063  in  1784,  re 
presenting  claims  amounting  to  $35,000,000.  It 
is  computed  that  Parliament  paid  these  refugees 
$15,000,000,  or  one  seventh  of  the  total  cost  of 
the  war.  Documents  show  with  what  persist 
ence  Daniel  Leonard  begged  tor  help  —  demand 
ing  indemnity  for  property  confiscated  and  for 
income  forfeited.  His  many  memorials  disclose 
the  straits  of  the  refugees,  and  show  through  what 
official  red  tape  their  claims  were  delayed.1 

Under  the  Compensation  Act  of  1784,  claims 
to  the  amount  of  seven  million  pounds  were  re 
presented,  of  which  £1,877,000  were  allowed. 
Leonard  claimed  £3621.  He  was  allowed  origi 
nally  £1215,  165.,  and  actually  received  £917, ijs., 
of  which  £487  was  paid  in  the  first  instalment, 
and  the  balance  later.  In  his  memorial  he  claimed 
that  he  had  a  larger  practice  than  any  other 
barrister  in  Massachusetts,  estimated  by  Seth 
Williams,  at  £600  a  year.  He  claimed  for  loss  of 
income  £1060,  and  was  allowed  £500.  He  re 
presented  that  he  owned  400  acres  in  different 
parts  of  his  province,  worth  not  less  than  £4000, 

1  The  antiquarian,  in  search  of  documentary  data  relating  to 
an  exiled  Tory  among  the  archives  of  the  Colonial  Secretary's 
Department,  is  handed  a  canvas  bag  a  yard  long  stuffed  with 
all  papers  relating  to  that  individual  Loyalist. 

[348] 


Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den 

with  mills  and  buildings  thereon,  and  a  personal 
estate  of  £8000. 

As  years  dragged  on  and  hope  that  England 
would  crush  the  rebellion  was  succeeded  by  the 
prospect  of  complete  independence  for  the  colo 
nies,  Leonard,  in  despair  of  returning  to  his  patri 
mony,  was  reminded  by  the  hungry  presence  of 
his  growing  children,  wife,  and  faithful  servant, 
who  had  come  over  in  the  summer  of  1778,  that 
he  must  secure  some  office  of  sufficient  revenue  to 
meet  the  cost  of  living.  Even  before  he  had  ac 
cepted  his  fate  as  forever  exiled,  he  sought  admis 
sion  to  the  English  Bar,  and  we  find  this  entry  at 
the  Temple : 

Daniel  Leonard,  films  Unicus  Ephraimis  Leon 
ard,  de  Mansfield  in  America  armigeri,  generaliter 
admissus  est  in  societatem  istius  communitatis, 
in  consideratione  trium  librarium,  sex  solidorum 
&  octo  denariorum  praemanibus  solutos  quinto  die 
Junii  Anno  Dom.  1777. 

He  was  called  to  the  Bar  May  30,  1779;  but  not 
recorded  as  a  "bencher."  Before  he  became  a  bar 
rister,  he  had  applied  for  an  office.  At  first  the 
American  Secretary  suggested  the  division  of 
Maine  and  the  creation  of  a  province  out  of  the 
territory  between  the  Penobscot  and  St.  Croix 
Rivers,  to  provide  a  place  for  Thomas  Oliver  as 
Governor,  and  Leonard  as  Chief  Justice.  This 
[  349  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


scheme,  approved  by  the  King  and  Ministry,  was 
abandoned  because  the  Attorney-General  gave 
his  opinion  that  the  whole  of  Maine  was  included 
in  Massachusetts.  Then  Lord  Sackville,  whose 
Tory  hatred  was  carried  so  far  that  he  resigned 
as  Secretary  of  State  rather  than  sign  the  treaty 
granting  independence,  offered  Leonard  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  Bermuda,  upon  the  suggestion  of 
Colonel  William  Browne,  of  Salem,  who  was 
appointed  Governor  of  these  islands. 


CHAPTER   XXII 
Chief  "Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

But  bless  the  little  fairy  isle! 
How  sweetly  after  all  our  ills, 

We  saw  the  sunny  morning  smile 
Serenely  on  its  fragrant  hills. 

TOM  MOORE. 

They  came  into  a  land  in  which  it  seemed  always  afternoon. 

HOMER. 

LEONARD'S  life,  spanning  three  genera 
tions,  separates  naturally  into  a  trilogy — 
cis-Atlantic,  mid-Atlantic,  trans-Atlantic. 
In  1781,  when  his  friend,  David  Cobb,  was  with 
Washington,  penning  Cornwallis  in  the  Virginia 
cul  de  sac,  Leonard  and  William  Browne,  with 
their  commissions  and  their  families,  sailed  from 
England,  for  that  sparkling  gem  of  islands  on  the 
bosom  of  the  Atlantic,  called  Bermuda.  These 
islands  would  have  joined  the  original  thirteen 
states,  if  the  sympathies  of  the  inhabitants  had 
prevailed.1  Bermuda  was  little  known  to  Ameri 
cans,,  though  Bishop  Berkeley,  the  year  Paine 
was  born,  had  planned  to  plant  his  American 
College  there  as  a  convenient  centre  for  the  Ameri 
can  provinces.  The  islands  were  first  reported 

1  It  was  Bermuda  gunpowder  that  Washington  used  in  the 
cannon  that  drove  Leonard  and  Browne  out  of  Boston. 

[351 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


by  a  Spaniard,  Bermudez,  who  stumbled  upon 
them  in  his  way  to  Cuba.  Since  then,  many 
another  caravel  has  found  an  untimely  grave  by 
striking  the  adjacent  submerged  rocks.1  The 
Bermudas  were  settled  by  the  Virginia  Company 
before  the  Pilgrims  landed.  Bermuda  Hundred 
in  Virginia  was  a  gift  to  the  island  colonists,  be 
cause  land  was  much  more  plentiful  in  Virginia 
than  in  Bermuda.  At  first  called  "La  Garza" 
from  the  name  of  Bermudez's  ship,  later,  on  ac 
count  of  disasters  upon  its  shores,  Bermuda  was 
named  "Isle  of  Devils";  next,  "Virginiola";  then, 
"Summer  Islands";  and  finally  "Bermuda"  in 
honor  of  the  discoverer. 

Modern  steamship  catalogues  alluringly  an 
nounce  to  prospective  voyagers  that  this  summer 
land  is  a  "perpetual  June  for  lotus-eaters"  where 
"Atlantic  waves  that  roll  by  Boston  crested  with 
snowflakes,  break  with  warmth  and  crystal  clear 
ness  on  this  crescent  of  rock."  The  approach 
ing  traveller  perceives  square,  white-washed  lime 
stone  houses  gleaming  through  a  screen  of  green 
junipers,  whose  roots  are  strong  enough  to  pene 
trate  the  underlying  soft  white  coral  rock.  This 
porous  rock,  hardening  upon  exposure,  is  sawed  out 
of  the  hills  and  used  for  building.  It  is  friable  and 

1  Vide  Shakespeare's  Tempest,  which  was  suggested  by  Wil 
liam  Strachey's  narrative  of  his  shipwreck  at  Bermuda,  1610. 
"Still-vexed  Bermuthes." 

[352] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

makes  a  smooth,  dazzling  road.  The  newcomer 
sees  semi-tropical  flowers  blooming  in  the  lan 
guorous  atmosphere — poncianas,  bougainvillaeas, 
poinsettias,  lantanas,  night-blooming  cereus,  olean 
ders,  —  many  imported  since  Leonard's  day. 
The  fecundity  of  nature  produces  a  wealth  of 
quickly  maturing  vegetation  which  rapidly  decays 
-  and  the  vegetable  life  typifies  also  that  of  the 
human  family  in  the  tropics.  Along  the  wayside 
are  pawpaws,  palmettos,  cocoanuts,  tamarinds, 
mangrove,  and  fiddle  trees.  Crakes,  blue  herons, 
sea-swallows,  cardinals,  and  other  birds  of  bril 
liant  plumage  flash  across  the  sapphire  sky;  ex 
quisite  submarine  flowers,  mosses,  and  iridescent 
fish  are  seen  through  the  transparent  water  from 
glass-bottomed  boats.  At  Easter,  a  sea  of  lilies 
waves  in  beauty  and  fragrance;  and  still  more 
insistent  in  perfume  are  acres  of  Bermuda  onions. 
The  black  faces  of  half  the  inhabitants  are  set  off 
by  the  red  coats  of  the  English  soldiers,  who  are 
an  eighth  part  of  the  permanent  population  of 
22,000.  The  capital,  now  Hamilton,  was  formerly 
St.  George's.  During  Leonard's  residence  this 
change  of  location  was  effected,  possibly  hastened 
by  the  plague  of  rats  which  infested  the  old  state 
buildings.1 

1  Governor  Cockburn  was  said  to  have  received  a  gift  of 
four  thousand  dollars  for  his  "influence"  in  bringing  about 
the  change. 

[353  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Hither,  then,  came  Leonard,  in  his  early  for 
ties  to  spend  his  mature  years.  Presiding  as  Chief 
Justice  for  thirty  years  over  this  checker  board 
population,  he  came  to  be  known  to  all  as  he 
sauntered  over  the  island,  returning  with  his  bam 
boo  cane  the  salute  of  a  Lord  High  Admiral,  or 
a  colored  market-woman  crying  her  wares  as  she 
balanced  her  basket  of  lemons,  guavas,  and  cus 
tard  apples  on  her  head,  while  pickaninnies  clung 
to  her  apron.  His  residence  was  a  low,  flat-roofed 
stone  house,  with  heavy  wooden  shutters,  nestled 
among  orange,  banana,  mulberry,  and  olive  trees. 
Under  the  corner  eaves  stood  a  hogshead  to  catch 
the  precious  rain-water;  in  his  back  yard  he 
raised  annually  three  crops  of  vegetables,  using 
fish  and  seaweed  for  dressing.  A  corner  of  the 
garden  was  devoted  to  tobacco  for  his  own  use. 
The  staring  white  of  his  house  was  relieved  by 
scarlet  blossoms  which  he  could  clip  for  a  New 
Year's  boutonniere.  It  was  a  new  world  for  his 
family,  with  many  sights  to  captivate  them.  His 
children  drove  about  the  island  in  basket-carts 
with  darkey  boys  to  accelerate  the  docile,  dilatory 
donkey;  visited  the  sand  glaciers  at  Elbow  Bay 
and  the  "Admiral's  Grotto"  of  fantastic  archi 
tecture,  where  hang  long  stalactites  from  which 
geologists  have  computed  that  the  island  is  600- 
ooo  years  old;  bathed  in  the  clear  ocean  water  in 
nooks  sheltered  from  sharks ;  paddled  out  in  cedar 

[354] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

canoes  to  look  down  on  the  brilliant  angel-fish 
and  catch  shimmering  Portuguese  men-of-war, 
or  sailed  farther  around  the  long-wrecked  hulks 
of  treasure-laden  Spanish  galleons;  and  at  night 
saw  the  phosphorescence  of  the  stagnant  salt  la 
goons,  and  heard  the  mocking-bird  pour  out  his 
melodies  under  the  enchanting  moonlight.  Little 
variation  marked  the  routine  from  one  year's  end 
to  another. 

We  may  picture  to  ourselves  the  judge  as  he 
rises  at  the  daybreak  screams  of  the  kittiwakes,  and 
breakfasts  on  goat's  milk,  figs,  bonito,  and  sweet 
potatoes.  He  takes  a  morning  walk  up  to  the 
lighthouse  to  look  for  new  sails  in  the  offing,  or 
a  chance  whale  in  the  harbor.  Then  sweating  un 
der  a  heavy,  many-curled,  flaxen  wig,  he  presides 
with  dignity  on  the  Supreme  Bench,  as  the  patch 
work  of  black  and  white  humanity  sits  in  proper 
awe  while  he  delivers  the  decree  in  civil,  criminal, 
or  admiralty  cases.  After  his  midday  siesta,  his 
daughter  Harriet  tucks  a  japonica  in  his  lapel,  as, 
dressed  in  white  linen,  he  goes  out  to  enjoy  an 
afternoon  game  in  the  shade  of  a  spice-laden  tree, 
with  his  friends,  perhaps  Tom  Moore  or  Miss 
Fanny  Tucker,  "The  Rose  of  the  Isles,"  as  Moore 
addressed  her.  After  a  ceremonious  dinner,  he 
lights  a  long  pipe  and  learns  the  news  from  the 
newly  established  local  gazette,  or  from  incoming 
vessels  which  bring  the  latest  advices  concerning 
[355  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


the  monster  Napoleon  against  whom  his  country 
is  contending.   And  so  ends  his  day. 

On  Sunday  he  attends  with  his  family  the  old 
Church  of  St.  Peter's,  built  before  the  Mayflower 
landed  at  Plymouth,  but  retaining  its  original 
cedar  timbers  still  sound.  In  the  next  family  pew 
are  the  Brownes,  who  have  presented  a  silver 
communion  service  to  this  church.  Leonard's 
social  life  was  passed  much  in  the  company  of 
Governor  Browne,  who,  in  former  days  in  Salem, 
had  been  also  of  the  Massachusetts  landed  gen 
try,  and  to  whom,  in  recognition  of  his  ability  and 
station,  flattering  offers  were  made  to  hold  him 
to  the  American  cause.  Browne  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  the  year  before  Leonard  entered, 
but  they  were  well  known  to  each  other,  and  both 
were  among  the  Mandamus  Councillors.  Madam 
Leonard's  sister  and  her  husband,  Andrew  Caz- 
neau,  made  their  home  at  Bermuda  several  years. 
Thomas  Moore,  the  poet,  was  given  a  berth 
there  as  Recorder,  and  for  a  while  his  calabash 
tree  was  a  favorite  centre  of  social  gayety.  The 
officers  of  shifting  regiments  and  of  the  warships 
which  touched  at  Bermuda  kept  the  social  com 
plexion  changing.  Leonard's  daughters  were 
married  to  visiting  officers,  one  to  Captain  John 
Smith,  from  Antigua,  another  to  Captain  Stewart, 
an  officer  of  the  customs,  with  whom  she  soon 
went  to  live  in  London.  From  this  pier  sailed 

[356] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

away  Leonard's  son,  Charles,  a  college  mate  of 
Paine's  sons,  to  attempt  a  course  at  Harvard. 
Then  came  the  day,  in  1806,  when  his  wife,  en 
feebled  by  the  Bermuda  dampness,  waved  her 
last  good-bye  from  a  home-bound  vessel  and 
faded  from  his  sight  forever. 

Leonard's  circuit  at  Bermuda  was  not  so  wide 
as  that  which  led  Judges  Paine  and  Dana  into  ill- 
humor.  Although  there  are  as  many  islands  as 
days  in  the  year,  the  whole  area  of  the  Bermudas 
is  less  than  twenty  square  miles  —  not  more  than 
the  original  Taunton  when  it  included  Leonard's 
birthplace.  Imagine  Taunton  a  colony  with  full 
governmental  machinery  —  Governor,  Chief  Jus 
tice,  Senate,  and  Assembly,  postage  stamps. 
There  were  living  at  St.  George's  descendants  of 
the  Indians  sold  by  Massachusetts  into  slavery 
after  King  Philip's  death.  One  of  these,  Jacob 
Minors,  so  named  from  his  ancestors'  master,  was 
a  noted  pilot,  with  whom  the  Chief  Justice  may 
have  had  acquaintance  on  the  score  that  his  an 
cestors  and  Philip's  braves  were  cordial  friends. 
Taunton  vessels  occasionally  put  into  Bermuda 
bringing  salt  herring,  lumber,  and  pottery;  they 
took  back  potatoes,  onions,  cedar  boats,  and  cocoa- 
nuts.  Leonard,  sighting  the  topsails  of  some  famil 
iar  ship,  would  impatiently  wait  at  the  dock,  to 
question  the  skipper  about  Taunton  affairs.  Occa 
sionally,  he  received  a  letter  from  his  former  as- 

[357] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


sociates,  Dr.  Baylies,  Judge  Wheaton,  his  cousin 
George,  and,  let  us  hope,  his  fathef  at  Christmas 
time  sent  down  a  barrel  packed  with  venison, 
cob-smoked  ham,  nuts,  and  apples  grown  on  the 
Norton  farm;  for  the  judge's  palate  was  not 
wholly  satisfied  with  such  native  delicacies  as 
ripe  figs  served  in  sugar  and  cream,  or  pomegran 
ates  mellowed  in  Madeira  wine.  In  the  heat  of 
summer,  his  fastidious  appetite  may  have  been 
checked  by  a  small  army  of  ants  marching  across 
his  table,  or  the  giant  spider  nimbly  dancing  along 
the  ceiling.  He  claimed  that  provisions  in  Ber 
muda  were  four  times  as  expensive  as  in  England, 
and  that  his  table  alone  annually  cost  £600. 
During  the  long  war  between  France  and  Eng 
land,  it  was  supplied  by  contraband  goods  brought 
in  by  Yankee  vessels. 

The  greatest  trouble  of  his  insular  life  was  the 
inadequate  means  for  decent  existence.  His  dif 
ficulties  in  this  matter  do  not  surprise  us,  for  from 
his  sixteenth  year  he  apparently  had  much  dif 
ficulty  to  keep  his  expenses  within  his  income.  His 
appeal  to  the  Crown  was  more  distressing  and  in 
sistent  than  that  of  Paine  to  Governor  Hancock. 
His  salary  of  £360  had  been  continued,  as  if  he 
were  still  a  Boston  Solicitor  of  Customs,  and  £200 
(the  salary  of  a  Mandamus  Councillor)  was  added 
for  the  "American  sufferer."  To  these  his  emolu 
ments  as  Chief  Justice  and  incidental  fees  brought 

[358] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

£300  more,  but  the  total  was  inadequate  to  his 
notions  of  living-*  For  twenty  years  he  was  much 
occupied  in  representing  what  a  financial  disas 
ter  was  involved  in  his  loyalty  to  King  George. 
In  1784,  after  collecting  data,  he  sailed  away  to 
England,  secured  audience  with  Lord  George 
Germaine,  who,  as  Secretary  for  the  colonies, 
presented  Leonard's  claim  in  a  long  memorial.1 

1  To  the   Right  Honorable  the   Lords   Commissioners  of  his 

Majestys  Treasury. 

The  Memorial  of  Daniel  Leonard,  Chief  Justice  of  Bermuda 
HUMBLY  SHEWETH 

That  there  is  no  Salary  annexed  to  the  office  he  has  the  honor 
to  hold,  and  that  all  the  Emoluments  arising  from  it  do  not 
exceed  £300  per  Annum ;  in  consequence  of  which  no  professional 
person  has  ever  held  it  for  any  time. 

That  Government  having  been  repeatedly  requested  to  make 
some  Provision  for  the  Administration  of  Justice  in  Bermuda, 
the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Viscount  Sackville,  when  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  American  department,  was  pleased  to  propose 
that  the  Memorialist,  who  had  been  regularly  educated  to  the 
profession  of  the  Law,  should  be  appointed  the  Chief  Justice. 

That  the  Memorialist,  understanding  that  the  appointment 
was  not  lucrative  and  that  the  expenses  of  maintaining  a  Family 
at  Bermuda  are  much  greater  than  in  England,  took  the  liberty 
to  offer  his  Services,  provided  the  amounts  of  his  Office  of  Sollici- 
tor  of  the  American  Customs,  which  were  £360  per  Annum 
and  the  allowance  of  £200  as  a  Councillor  of  the  late  Province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  both  of  which  had  been  given  him  for 
his  sufferings  as  an  American  Loyalist,  and  both  of  which  he 
then  held  as  Sine  Cures,  might  be  made  certain. 

That  his  Lordship  was  pleased  to  say  that  he  considered  the 
offer  as  reasonable,  and  by  an  official  Letter  recommended  to  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury  to  give  such  directions 
as  should  be  necessary  for  carrying  the  proposal  into  effect. 

[359] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


After  visiting  his  scattered  friends,  Leonard  re 
turned  to  Bermuda,  with  assurance  of  obtain 
ing  a  moiety  of  his  claim.  Sitting  in  "this  Eng 
lish  garden  at  New  York's  front  doorstep,"  he 

The  Memorialist  having  lately  waited  upon  Lord  Viscount 
Sackville,  his  Lordship  was  pleased  to  say  that  he  well  recollects 
the  official  transaction  to  have  been  as  here  stated,  and  that 
he  will  signify  the  same,  whenever  he  should  be  desired. 

The  Lords  of  the  Treasury  upon  taking  the  above-mentioned 
Letter  into  Consideration,  made  an  Order  that  the  Memorialists 
Office  of  Sollicitor  should  cease,  and  that  he  should  be  paid 
annually  its  amount,  being  £360,  in  addition  to  his  allowance  of 
£200  as  a  Councillor,  being  in  the  whole  £560  per  Annum  by 
Mr.  Rowe,  which  order  appears  by  the  Treasury  Books. 

Upon  the  faith  and  credit  of  this  Establishment  the  Memorial 
ist  purchased  a  Law  Library  and  made  all  the  provision  neces 
sary  for  removing  his  Family,  which  then  consisted  of  eight 
persons,  to  Bermuda  and  taking  upon  him  the  duties  of  the  ap 
pointment.  Not  being  able  to  get  a  passage  directly  to  Ber 
muda,  he  was  obliged  to  make  several  Voyages,  and  to  reside 
with  his  Family  several  Months  at  different  Islands  in  the  West 
Indies  at  an  expense  scarcely  credible.  At  Bermuda  he  took  a 
Lease  of  an  House  for  four  years;  repaired  and  furnished  it,  and 
made  the  necessary  provision  for  living  there.  The  doing  of  all 
which  has  been  attended  with  an  expence  exceeding  his  estab 
lishment  near  four  fold,  owing  to  the  extravagant  price  that 
every  thing  bears  in  the  West  Indies,  and  more  especially  at 
Bermuda  in  War-time;  But  he  looked  forward  with  pleasure  to 
the  reduction  of  expences  that  peace  should  bring  with  it,  to 
enable  him  to  fulfil  his  engagements,  having  been  obliged  to 
draw  a  large  sum  of  Money  on  the  credit  of  it.  The  attentions 
shewn  him  by  the  Inhabitants  rendered  his  situation  in  other 
respects  agreeable,  and  he  trusts  his  public  Conduct  has  not 
been  reprehensible. 

In  December,  the  Memorialist  received  advices  that  Govern 
ment  had  directed  an  Enquiry  to  be  made  into  the  Claims  of  such 

[  360] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

watched  the  upgrowth  of  the  American  nation. 
Was  the  canker  of  regret  gnawing  at  his  bosom  to 
think  that  he  was  not  a  part  of  this  infant  giant? 
Twenty-five  years  after  his  expulsion  from  Mass- 

of  the  American  Loyalists  as  had  allowances  made  them,  in 
order  to  make  a  reduction,  and  until  that  was  done  it  was 
probable  that  no  future  payments  would  be  made. 

Apprehensive  that  his  Claims  would  be  not  fully  known  un 
less  he  was  present,  and  fearing  that  his  Bills  would  come  back 
and  his  creditors,  that  had  supplied  him  writh  money  on  the 
credit  of  his  establishment,  be  uneasy,  he  thought  it  prudent 
to  come  directly  to  England. 

Upon  requesting  his  Excellency  Governor  Browne  to  grant 
leave  of  absence  for  a  short  time  he  expressed  a  readiness  to  do 
it  provided  some  provision  should  be  made  for  the  Administra 
tion  of  Justice  in  the  meantime.  The  Memorialist  accordingly 
entered  into  an  Agreement  in  Writing  to  make  a  compensation 
to  Judge  Burch,  on  whom  the  Business  devolves,  and  obtained 
his  Excellency's  leave  of  absence  for  a  few  Months. 

Before  the  Memorialist  arrived  in  England  the  Commissioners 
appointed  for  examining  the  claims  of  the  American  Loyalists, 
had  taken  his  case  into  consideration,  and  reported  a  reduction 
of  £260  from  the  £560,  leaving  only  £30x3  to  be  paid  in  future, 
and  upon  giving  him  a  very  long  and  candid  hearing  were  pleased 
to  say,  that  they  (had)  not  made  nor  could  with  propriety  make 
him  an  allowance  in  consideration  of  his  Claims  as  Chief  Jus 
tice  of  Bermuda,  their  Examination  being  from  the  nature  of  the 
appointment  restricted  to  the  Claims  of  American  Loyalists 
as  such,  and  therefore  they  did  not  see  any  reason  for  altering 
the  report  already  made. 

The  Memorialist  does  not  ask  for  an  additional  allowance  for 
the  unforeseen  and  unavoidable  expence  that  attended  his 
carrying  his  Family  to  Bermuda,  and  making  a  Settlement  there 
in  War-time,  as  he  engaged  to  do  it  in  Consideration  of  his  Salary 
which  was  then  promised  —  Nor  for  the  total  derangement  of 
his  affairs  in  being  obliged  suddenly  to  leave  the  Island  —  nor 

[361  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


achusetts  (halter  penalty  now  forgotten),  he 
sailed  away  for  the  old  home  to  see  his  son, 
Charles,  settle  his  father's  estate,  and  clasp  hands 
once  more  with  former  comrades.  Much  like  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  he  found  a  new  order  of  things. 
Changes  stood  out  vividly.  No  longer  under 
English  rule,  a  thoroughly  republican  govern 
ment  was  established,  with  his  old  friend,  Adams, 
at  the  helm.  At  the  time  of  this  visit  in  1799, 
England  and  France  were  at  war,  and  it  was 
hazardous  to  traverse  the  high  seas.  A  parting 

for  the  expences  attending  his  coming  to  England  and  returning 
to  Bermuda  although  he  apprehends  he  has  an  Equitable  Claim 
thereto  —  But  he  trusts  your  Lordships  candour  will  excuse  his 
claiming  from  the  faith  of  Government  the  performance  of  a 
Stipulation  which  was  then  made  to  him  in  continuing  the  pro 
vision  of  £560  per  Annum  in  some  proper  mode,  unless  the 
Memorialist  has  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  deviated  from 
the  line  of  his  duty. 

Your  Lordships  Memorialist  therefore  humbly  prays  that 
such  a  Salary  may  be  annexed  to  the  Office  of  Chief  Justice  of 
Bermuda,  as  shall  be  sufficient  to  support  the  dignity  of  his 
Majestys  Commission  and  shall  be  an  Equivalent  to  the  reduc 
tion  made  from  his  before  mentioned  allowance. 

And  the  Memorialist  as  in  duty  bound   shall  ever  pray,  etc. 

[Endorsed] 

March  23d   At  the  desire  of  Mr.  Leonard,  I  certify  that  the 
1784  agreement  made  with  him  respecting  his  allow 

ance  upon  his  going  out  Chief  Justice  to  the  Island 
of  Bermuda  is  accurately  stated  in  this  Memorial,  and  I  farther 
Certify  that  his  conduct  whilst  I  was  in  office  justly  entitled  him 
to  the  Confidence  and  Protection  of  Government. 

SACKVILLE. 

[362] 


Chief  Justice  of  the  Bermudas 

letter    written   to  President  Adams,  whom   he 
visited,  illustrates  the  courtliness  of  the  Judge.1 

N.  YORK,  30  June  1799. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Will  you  permit  me  to  address  you  in  the  stile 
of  our  former  familiarity?  My  heart  recognises  all 
its  former  friendship,  and  I  flatter  myself  you  some 
times  recollect  with  pleasure  our  professional  in 
timacy.  I  had  promised  myself  the  honor  of  again 
waiting  on  you  before  I  returned  to  Bermuda,  but 
was  obliged  to  come  to  this  city  with  all  diligence 
in  order  to  avail  myself  of  a  passage  in  an  armed 
vessel  recommended  by  Governor  Beckwith.  My 
son  will  have  the  honor  of  delivering  this.  My  re 
spects,  if  you  please,  to  your  lady. 

I  am  with  the  highest  esteem  and  respect, 
Your  most  humble  Servant, 

DANIEL  LEONARD. 

To  His  EXCELLENCY,  JOHN  ADAMS, 

President  of  the  United  States. 

He  found  his  Cousin  George  and  brother-in- 
law  Baylies,  members  of  the  National  Congress. 
The  latter  speaks  of  riding  with  him  toward 
Bridgewater,  where  they  separated  at  the  fork  of 
the  road,  as  Daniel  wished  once  more  to  look  on 
his  birthplace  and  the  tombs  of  his  parents  at 

1  It  would  be  gratifying  to  know  if  Adams,  who  had  written 
that  he  would  "hang  his  own  brother  if  he  went  against  him," 
had  cooled  down  as  President,  and  greeted  Leonard  with  re 
ciprocal  warmth  of  feeling. 

[363  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Mansfield.  At  Taunton  he  was  a  guest,  in  his  old 
home,  of  his  former  office-boy,  now  Judge  Padel- 
ford.  The  tender  grace  of  days  gone  by  came  back 
to  him  as  he  looked  out  with  a  sigh  upon  Taunton 
Green.  We  see  him  visiting  (in  the  house  where  he 
was  first  married)  the  patriotic  mother  of  his  wife, 
now  nearly  a  century  old,  whom  he  tells  of  her 
married  granddaughter.  We  see  him  at  the  grave 
of  his  first  wife,  pulling  away  the  briers  and 
lichens  to  read  anew  the  inscription  on  the  flat 
tombstone.  Again  he  steps  into  the  court-house 
where  he  was  wont  to  plead  and  argue.  Again  he 
visits  the  tavern  and  drinks  a  toddy  in  memory 
of  auld  lang  syne.  Again  he  rides  to  Boston,  re 
cognizing  a  few  acquaintances.  Did  he  meet  Judge 
Paine?  Did  these  rivals  of  other  days,  their  hair 
now  streaked  with  gray,  bury  past  grievances, 
clasp  hands  warmly  in  their  mature  dignity,  and 
laugh  over  early  struggles,  as  they  exchanged  their 
varied  experiences  ?  Did  they  meet,  or  did  they 
carefully  avoid  meeting? 

He  repeated  this  westward  visit  in  1808,  and  a 
few  years  later,  gathering  together  his  household 
goods  and  now  slender  family,  he  sailed  eastward 
to  London,  there  "to  husband  out  life's  taper  to 
the  close."  His  active  work  was  ended  and  on 
the  honor  roll  of  his  American  Alma  Mater  he 
stands  for  posterity  as  "Chief  Justice  of  Ber 
muda." 

[364] 


THE  LEAN  AND  SLIPPERED 
PANTALOON 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

A  Family  of  Bostonians 

Solid  men  of  Boston,  make  no  long  orations 
Solid  men  of  Boston,  banish  strong  potations. 

CHARLES  MORRIS. 

ATER  several  years'  residence  in  Taunton, 
Leonard  had  established  himself  as  the 
most  favored  citizen,  when  suddenly,  in 
the  fitfulness  of  Fate,  bullets  came  pricking 
through  his  window-panes  (unmistakable  hint  of 
a  fall  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-townsmen),  and 
he  hurriedly  repaired  to  Boston.  On  the  other 
hand,  Paine,  claiming  Taunton  as  his  home  for 
nineteen  years,  returned  to  Boston  with  the  high 
est  regard  of  his  townsmen,  who  by  common  con 
sent  ranked  him  as  the  foremost  citizen  of  the  Old 
Colony.  With  other  families  from  the  rural  coun 
ties,  he  went  to  weave  new  strands  into  the  social 
fabric  of  the  metropolis,  since  the  ante-Revolu 
tionary  aristocracy  had  mostly  taken  French 
leave.  The  Cabots,  Pickerings,  Jacksons,  Lowells, 
Grays,  Higginsons,  Parsons,  Ameses,  Sullivans, 
Prescotts,  were  among  the  new  inner  circle  of  so 
ciety.  Although  his  statue  stands  in  Taunton  (his 
residence  when  he  reached  the  pinnacle  of  his 
fame),  Paine  was  a  thoroughbred  Bostonian,  and 

[367] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


passed  sixty  years  on  that  smug  little  Puritan 
peninsula. 

The  exacting  duties  of  Attorney-General  com 
pelled  him  to  spend  much  of  his  time  away  from  his 
wife,  who  only  learned  of  his  intention  of  remov 
ing  to  Boston  through  a  third  person.  She  writes: 

TAUNTON,  March  8,  1780. 

MY  DEAR  HUSBAND  :  The  report  is  here  that  you 
have  bought  a  house  in  Boston.  I  tell  them  I  sup 
pose  you  mean  to  have  two  wives  —  one  for  Taun 
ton,  and  one  for  Boston. 

Paine  moved  his  household  goods  to  his  newly 
purchased  house  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Milk 
and  Federal  Streets,  opposite  the  present  Boston 
Post-Office,  in  April,  1780.  This  house,  pur 
chased  of  Colonel  John  Amory,  a  Boston  mer 
chant,  was  once  owned  by  Governor  Shirley.  It 
was  a  large,  two-storied  brick  dwelling  with  gam- 
brel  roof;  in  the  spacious  rear  garden  was  the 
kitchen  with  its  jack  and  turnspit.  The  location 
was  in  the  middle  of  the  town.  The  North  End 
had  become  the  resort  of  the  ebb-tide  aristocracy, 
and  fashion  was  working  around  to  the  east  and 
south  of  Beacon  Hill.  Paine's  new  home  was  not 
in  the  most  healthful  quarter,  for  salt  water  flowed 
up  to  the  next  square,  and  imperfect  drainage  com 
pelled  occasional  bailing  from  the  cellar;  perad- 
venture  also  setting  afloat  the  ten  barrels  of  cider 

[368] 


SAM    ADAMS 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


which  he  annually  stored  to  promote  the  socia 
bility  of  winter  evenings.  When  his  not-distant 
neighbors,  Gushing,  Quincy,  Gardner,  Wendell, 
Sam  Adams,  or  Bowdoin,  dropped  in  after  supper;' 
young  Robert  was  sent  down  cellar  to  fill  the 
pitcher,  while  the  guests  talked  the  evening  away 
over  current  events  and  the  Attorney-General's 
business. 

The  walls  of  this  Boston  home  echoed  with  the 
laughter  and  play  of  a  houseful  of  lively  child 
ren;  the  first-born,  christened  Robert  Treat,  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  in  1789,  and  died  at 
Boston,  July  28,  1798,  unmarried.  The  second 
child,  Sally,  named  for  her  mother,  was  born  in 
1772,  and  died,  unmarried,  in  January,  1825.  The 
third  child,  commonly  known  as  the  "poet," 
was  called  "Thomas"  after  his  Grandfather 
Paine.  Upon  the  death  of  the  older  brother, 
Thomas  petitioned  the  Legislature  that  he  "might 
have  a  Christian  name,"  as  he  expressed  it,  and 
assume  that  of  the  deceased  Robert  Treat.  He 
was  not  ashamed  of  his  grandparent,  but  a  new 
Thomas  Paine  had  arisen,  the  author  of  that  un 
orthodox  volume,  "The  Age  of  Reason."  We 
may  reasonably  believe,  however,  that  family 
pride  had  as  much  to  do  with  the  affair  as  hatred 
of  heterodoxy.  Robert  Treat  was  the  name  of  the 
boy's  great-great-grandfather,  who  was  a  gover 
nor  of  Connecticut.  Paine  the  Signer,  was  given 

[369] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


his  name  of  Robert  Treat  (which  an  earlier  son 
of  his  parents,  who  died  in  infancy,  had  also  borne), 
after  his  mother's  brother,  Robert  Treat,  who 
had  died  without  issue.  Nature  seemed  deter 
mined  that  the  name  should  pass  out  of  existence, 
but  the  family,  stoutly  protesting,  overruled  her 
wishes.1 

This  boy,  born  in  Taunton,  rolled  his  marbles 
and  played  hobby-horse  with  his  mates  around 
Taunton  Green,  until  he  went  to  Boston  at  six 
years  of  age.  During  his  four  years  at  Harvard, 
he  won  a  membership  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  and 
shone  as  a  scholar  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  the  mother 
tongue.  When  some  doggerel  lines  rehearsing  the 
peculiarities  of  certain  professors  were  found 
scribbled  on  the  basement  walls  and  traced  to 
Paine,  he  was  duly  hailed  by  his  fellow-students 
as  a  coming  laureate.  After  his  graduation,  he  ob 
tained  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  counting-house. 
Instead  of  figures  of  trade,  the  caged  poet  made 
his  day-book  entries  in  verse  and  once  made  out 
a  legal  document  in  rhyme.  Mr.  James  Tisdale, 
his  employer,  while  he  may  have  admired  genius, 
was  loath  to  reward  it  liberally  and  the  young 
man  soon  found  himself  struggling  on  the  foot 
hills  of  Parnassus  with  an  empty  purse.  However, 
his  compassionate  father  supplied  him  with  the 

1  Recently  there  have  been  litigious  relations  between  two 
Robert  Treat  Paines  due  to  their  duplicate  names. 

[370] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 

funds  to  start  a  semi-weekly  journal,  the  "Federal 
Orrery,"  as  an  outlet  for  his  enthusiasm.  The 
youth  translated  "Phaedo";  and  carried  on  a 
literary  antiphony  in  a  magazine,  the  "  Seat  of  the 
Muses,"  with  Mrs.  Perez  Morton,  the  leading  blue 
stocking  of  Boston,  nicknamed  the  "American 
Sappho."  In  search  of  copy,  he  was  a  frequent 
visitor  to  the  green  room  to  commune  with  "foot- 
light  favorites." 

His  marriage,  February  17, 1795,  to  Miss  Baker, 
an  actress,  daughter  of  the  proprietor  of  the  thea 
tre  near  by,  for  a  time  alienated  his  father,  but 
stimulated  the  son's  love  for  poetry  and  the  drama. 
That  year  he  gave  birth  to  a  poem,  "The  Inven 
tion  of  Letters,"  which,  after  delivery  at  Harvard 
College  (for  degree  of  A.M.)  was  published,  and 
netted  the  unprecedented  sum  of  $1500.  This  was 
followed  by  "The  Ruling  Passion."  The  fifth 
stanza  of  his  popular  song  entitled  "Adams  and 
Liberty,"  which  was  sung  all  over  the  country, 
in  theatre  and  shop,  to  the  tune  of  "Anacreon  in 
Heaven,"  was  produced  under  unusual  circum 
stances.  Benjamin  Russell,  the  editor  of  the  Bos 
ton  "Centinel,"  on  examining  the  original  manu 
script  suggested  the  insertion  of  Washington's 
name.  Paine  (always  addicted  to  wine)  reached 
for  a  glass  of  inspiration,  but  Russell  stayed  his 
hand  until  he  should  compose  the  suggested  stanza, 
which  Paine  forthwith  produced  as  follows: 

[371] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Should  the  tempest  of  war  overshadow  our  land, 
Its  bolts  could  ne'er  rend  Freedom's  temple  asunder, 
For,  unmoved,  at  its  portal  would  Washington  stand, 
And  repulse  with  his  breast  the  assaults  of  the  thunder! 
His  sword  from  the  sleep 
Of  its  scabbard  would  leap, 

And  conduct  with  its  point  every  flash  to  the  deep! 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons  of  Columbia  be  slaves 
While  the  earth  bears  a  plant  or  the  sea  rolls  its  waves. 

This  poetic  son  outshone  the  patriotic  father 
in  contemporary  distinction.  At  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  he  promised  to  taboo  "wine,  women, 
and  song,"  and  gave  himself  seriously  to  the  study 
of  law  with  Theophilus  Parsons  at  Newburyport. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Boston  in  1802. 
His  son,  Robert  Treat,  and  a  daughter  died  within 
four  days  of  each  other,  in  March,  1802.  The 
father's  heart,  touched  by  his  poverty  and  be 
reavement,  welcomed  to  his  home  the  prodigal 
son.  There  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight.  As 
he  lay  in  the  attic,  Gilbert  Stuart  came  and  made 
a  death-mask  of  his  face  from  which  to  paint  his 
portrait.1 

1  One  moral  of  this  poet's  life  is  set  forth  in  a  recent  article 
by  William  Winter:  "It  was  my  fortune,  when  I  was  a  student 
of  the  Dane  Law  School  of  Harvard  University,  to  win  the  fa 
vorable  notice  of"  that  honored  professor,  Theophilus  Parsons, 
and  to  be  treated  very  kindly  by  him.  On  one  occasion,  after 
his  morning  lecture  had  ended,  he  called  me  into  his  study  and 
imparted  to  me  some  serious  advice.  'I  am  sorry,'  he  said,  'to 
observe  that  you  are  turning  your  attention  to  literature.  I 

[372] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


James  H.  Paine,  son  of  the  poet,  was  an  eccen 
tric  character,  having  but  two  aims  in  life- 
music  and  money.  He  never  married,  but  spent 
his  life  in  apparent  poverty.  Upon  his  death,  Mr. 
Chickering,  of  piano-forte  fame,  recalled  a  pack 
age  that  some  time  before  Mr.  Paine  had  left 
with  him  for  deposit  in  his  safe.  With  little 
thought  of  its  having  value,  he  opened  the  brown 
paper  package,  and  to  his  astonishment,  found 
that  it  contained  securities  to  the  amount  of  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Litigation  over  a 
forged  will  ended  in  a  decision  in  favor  of  the  Paine 
relatives. 

Charles  Paine,  the  fourth  son  of  the  Signer,  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  in  1793.  He  married  the 
niece  of  William  Gushing  (associate  Judge  with 
his  father),  and  died  in  1801.  It  is  from  this 
Charles  that  the  present  Boston  line  of  Paines  is 
descended.  Robert  Treat  Paine,  son  of  Charles, 
having  no  children,  gave  his  affection  to  the  hea- 

have  seen  your  poems  in  the  newspapers.  Don't  think  of  living 
by  your  pen.  Stick  to  the  law!  You  will  be  an  excellent  lawyer. 
You  will  have  a  profession  to  depend  on.  You  can  make  your 
own  way.  You  can  have  home  and  friends.  Stick  to  the  law! 
I  once  knew  a  brilliant  young  man  —  Paine  was  his  name  — 
who  started  much  as  you  have  done.  He  might  have  had  a 
prosperous  and  happy  life.  He  had  much  ability.  But  he  left 
the  law.  He  took  to  writing.  They  had  him  here  and  there  and 
everywhere  with  his  poems.  He  was  convivial;  he  wasted  his 
talents;  and  he  sank  into  an  early  and  a  rather  dishonored 
grave.'" 

[373  1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


venly  bodies  and  his  wealth  to  Harvard  College 
for  astronomical  purposes. 

Henry,  born  in  1777,  became  a  merchant  navi 
gator  and  died  June,  1814. 

Mary,  the  sixth  child,  born  in  1780,  married 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp?  and  died  in  1842. 

Marie  Antoinette  was  born  in  1782,  when  the 
French  sympathies  of  her  father  were  strong. 
She  was  married  to  Deacon  Greele  and  died  in 
1842. 

Lucretia,  the  youngest  of  the  children,  born  in 
1785,  lived  unmarried  with  her  parents,  and  died 
in  1823. 

Paine,  going  with  morning  market-basket  to 
Faneuil  Hall,  would  meet  such  friends  as  Peter 
Brooks,  Benjamin  Bussey,  Harrison  Gray  Otis, 
General  Lincoln,  Thorndike,  Salisbury,  Paul 
Revere,  Dr.  Eustis,  Oliver  Wendell,  the  Quincys, 
George  Cabot,  or  Jedidiah  Morse.  These  gentle 
men,  members  of  the  Federal  party,  often  sat 
down  to  a  hearty  dinner  together  at  three  o'clock, 
and  discussed  the  news  of  the  day  over  their 
Madeira.  Paine  strongly  favored  the  adoption  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  both  in  his  writings 
and  discussions.  Interested  in  national  affairs, 
he  read  the  Boston  "Advertiser,"  the  Philadelphia 
"Ledger,"  the  New  York  "Gazette,"  and  attended 
the  debates  of  the  Essex  Junto.  He  used  his  in 
fluence  in  support  of  the  administrations  of  Wash- 

[374] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


ington  and  Adams;  and  advocated  with  zeal  and 
ability  their  measures  of  government  during  the 
critical  period  of  1794.  It  grieved  him  to  see  the 
Federal  party  dissolving  under  the  ascendancy  of 
Jefferson  and  his  Democratic  principles.  Paine 
upheld  Hancock  and  Adams,  but  opposed  his 
other  fellow-signer,  Elbridge  Gerry.1  He  did  not 
believe  the  Republican  principles  essential  to  the 
best  welfare  of  his  country  and  joined  those  who 
endeavored,  unsuccessfully,  to  defeat  Gerry  for 
Governor  and  Vice-P resident.  In  1793  Paine 
was  present  at  the  mammoth  banquet  held  in 
State  Street  in  sympathy  with  the  revolutionists 
of  France,  when  joints  of  beef  were  tossed  up  to 
the  ladies  in  the  balconies. 

Paine  was  glad  to  meet  again,  in  1789,  his 
earlier  acquaintance,  George  Washington,  when 
he  made  his  famous  visit  to  Boston  as  President. 
He  witnessed  the  celebration  upon  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  when  an  old  boat,  symbol 
of  the  former  ship  of  state,  was  burned  on  Boston 
Common.  One  night  in  1790,  he  was  aroused  to 
find  that  his  boyhood  home  on  Beacon  Hill  was 
going  up  in  flames;  and,  as  Judge,  he  might  have 
delivered  the  sentence  by  which  the  colored  in 
cendiary  was  executed  for  arson.  In  the  summer 

1  Paine  applauded  when  Gerry  stated,  "If  a  man  had  but  one 
day  to  live,  he  should  devote  that  day  to  the  service  of  his 
country." 

[375 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


of  1 806  he  was  shocked  by  the  fatal  assault  in  State 
Street,  upon  the  editor  of  a  Republican  paper  by 
an  enraged  Federalist. 

During  Paine's  Indian  summer  days,  he  kept 
his  hand  on  current  affairs;  worked  in  his  garden; 
attended  town  meetings ;  followed  the  fortunes  of 
his  friends,  Adams  and  Jefferson,  and  was  a  guest 
at  many  dinner  parties  in  the  Hancock  mansion.1 
When,  in  the  sailors' war  of  1812,  privateersmen 
returned  with  a  trophy  of  their  daring,  Judge 
Paine,  though  not  in  active  sympathy  with  the 
war,  was  ready  to  review  the  public  parade.  He 
had  a  part  in  the  celebrations  of  Hull's  capture 
of  the  Guerriere.  Independence  Day,  Paine  and 
Adams  walked  together  in  the  parade,  to  arouse 
enthusiasm  by  their  presence  and  bring  back  the 
spirit  of  '76,  Paine  taking  two  steps  to  Adams's 
three.  In  1795,  after  the  Legislature  had  repealed 
the  act  against  playhouses,  giving  legal  sanction 
to  those  who  wished  to  attend  the  play  in  the 
garb  of  respectability,  we  find  Judge  Paine  at  the 
theatre  which  stood  beyond  his  back  fence,  en 
ticed  to  the  unwonted  place  presumably  by  the 
irresistible  charms  of  his  actress  daughter-in-law. 

1  These  dinner  parties  were  sometimes  hurriedly  prepared. 
Mr.  Paine's  cow,  which  was  daily  driven  to  and  from  the  Com 
mon,  was  probably  one  of  those  which  Madam  Hancock 
ordered  to  be  milked  to  supply  her  requirements  upon  the 
sudden  announcement  that  a  party  of  distinguished  Frenchmen 
was  to  grace  her  table  one  evening. 

[376] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


In  personal  appearance,  Judge  Paine  was  tall 
and  thin,  with  sparkling  black  eyes  and  hair 
shading  to  ferruginous.  He  was  a  strong,  earnest 
speaker,  though  not  reaching  the  heights  of  elo 
quence  : 

A  voice  of  deep  bass,  and  a  serious  if  not  stern 
expression  of  countenance,  gave  him  an  appear 
ance  of  greater  severity  than  he  possessed.  He  had 
kind  feelings  and  a  strong  relish  of  humor,  though 
with  this  peculiarity  —  that  his  appreciation  of  it 
was  not  quick,  and  the  report  of  his  laugh  was  not 
heard  till  the  flash  of  the  jest  had  entirely  vanished, 
says  Wheelor  Tudor.1 

In  all  sketches  of  him  there  is  reference  to  his  wit; 
when,  however,  we  search  for  a  good  specimen, 
we  hardly  find  one  worth  recording  beyond  those 
already  given.  The  gray  mare  was  the  better 
horse  when  it  came  to  levity  of  correspondence. 
From  John  Adams's  records,  we  infer  that  he  was 
not  greatly  given  to  dealing  in  gentle  humor, 
which  people  enjoy  and  repeat,  but  used  his 
barbed  wit  to  wound  his  associates. 

At  a  festival  in  Boston,  Judge  Paine,  ever  re 
curring  to  his  ministerial  days,  gave  this  toast: 

1  Paine's  grandson  wrote  of  his  maternal  grandsire  Gushing 
that  "his  head  was  full  of  good  ideas,  but  you  required  a  beetle 
and  wedge  to  get  them  out";  possibly  he  held  the  same  opinion 
of  his  paternal  grandparent. 

[377] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


Great  Britain  —  May  that  Nation  which  stood 
the  Friend  of  Liberty  when  Liberty  had  no  other 
Friend  among  the  Nations  be  refined  and  confined 
and  remain  the  Joachim  while  the  United  States 
of  America  stands  the  Boaz  of  true  Political  and 
Social  Liberty,  until  Sun  and  Moon  shall  set  no 
more. 

This  toast  is  rather  cumbrous  in  contrast  to 
the  lighter  lines  given  by  his  son  to  the  comely 
Miss  Fowle  of  Watertown: 

To  the  fair  of  every  town 

And  to  the  Fowle  of  Watertown. 

From  his  chamber  window,  Paine  could  look 
across  at  the  Old  State  House  in  which  he  had  con 
ducted  his  Massacre  trial,  had  served  in  the  As 
sembly,  had  sat  as  Judge.  Above  it,  where  as  a 
boy  he  had  gazed  in  admiration  at  the  red  banner 
of  St.  George,  he  saw  fluttering  the  Stars  and 
Stripes;  and  a  thrill  of  pleasure  came  to  him  at 
the  thought  that  he  had  borne  an  honorable  part 
in  this  "consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished." 
He  could  see  the  spire  of  the  Old  South  Church 
in  which  he  was  christened,  and  in  which  he  spoke 
once  in  preaching  days.  On  Beacon  Hill,  beyond 
his  birthplace,  he  could  see  the  dome  of  the  new 
State  House  with  its  pleasing  Bulfinch  architect 
ure  and  eagle  column  behind.  He  could  take  his 
cane  and  walk  up  to  watch  the  erection  of  the 

[378] 


*-  -  -    :. 


;  g 

. 


'  ',h  ^r  f 

•.^    |  ! 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


new  Park  Street  Church  christened  by  Unitarians 
"Brimstone  Corner";  or  stroll  around  to  the 
Exchange  Coffee-House,  where  politicians  gath 
ered  and  to  which  the  stage-coaches,  crossing  the 
narrow  Roxbury  Neck,  brought  passengers  from 
all  parts  of  New  England,  from  New  York,  and 
the  South. 

At  threescore  and  ten,  a  man's  life  has  filled 
the  Scriptural  measure.  The  tender  leaves  of  hope 
are  falling,  leaving  bare  the  boughs  of  youthful 
dreams.  Old  friends  grow  closer.  We  draw  a  pleas 
ant  picture  of  the  old  man  sitting  in  quiet  repose 
at  his  fireside,  "lean  and  slippered,"  "with  spec 
tacle  on  nose,"  tobacco  pouch  at  his  side  and  ther 
mometer  on  the  doorpost,  which  was  consulted 
punctually  morning  and  evening.  To  the  young 
fry  the  associations  clustered  about  his  name  in 
vested  his  presence  with  something  of  the  awe  ac 
corded  to  the  Roman  Conscript  Fathers.  He  was 
not  one  to  put  his  wig  on  hindside  to  and  go  down 
on  all  fours  to  make  fun  for  the  youngsters.  Once 
at  Christmas,  a  grandchild  came  bringing  the 
dessert,  and  exclaiming,  "See,  grandpa!  Even  the 
jelly  trembles  in  your  presence!"  It  is  said  that 
in  his  last  years,  a  grandchild  who  cared  for  his 
horse  allowed  the  animal  to  go  three  days  without 
hay  because  he  lacked  the  courage  to  report  to 
his  austere  grandfather  that  the  feed  had  given 
out.  Another  story  handed  down  in  the  family 

[379] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


tells  how  the  old  gentleman  sold  a  horse  having  a 
white  stocking  and  a  few  days  afterward  bought 
the  horse  back  again  thinking  it  a  new  one,  the 
foot  having  been  cleverly  painted  over  by  a  mis 
chievous  jockey. 

On  a  May  morning,  the  Judge  was  riding  in  his 
chaise  near  the  "Punch  Bowl  Tavern"  at  Rox- 
bury  when  a  runaway  horse  came  tearing  down 
the  road.  Paine  turned  aside,  but  the  runaway 
struck  his  wheel,  upset  the  chaise  and  threw  him 
into  the  street.  He  was  extricated  from  under 
the  vehicle  and  an  examination  of  his  injuries 
made  by  Dr.  Edward  Warren.  It  was  found  that 
no  bones  were  broken ;  but  the  shock  to  his  aged 
body  was  severe,  and  a  month  later  he  writes  that 
it  "took  him  half  an  hour  to  get  out  of  bed  in 
the  morning."  l 

A  scientific  strain  has  always  marked  the  family. 
Among  the  books  listed  under  this  name,  nearly 
all  relate  to  scientific  matters.  Four  generations 
specialized  in  study  of  the  stellar  worlds.  This 
penchant  for  astronomy  is  illustrated  in  the  name 
which  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Junior,  gave  to  his 
journal  —  "The  Federal  Orrery"  -  suggested  by 
his  father,  who  had  seen  the  orrery  invented  by 
Rittenhouse  at  Princeton  College.  In  his  diary 
of  sixty  years,  he  always  puts  the  zodiacal  sym- 

1  Daniel  Webster's  infirmities  were  increased  by  being  thrown 
from  his  chaise  at  Kingston. 

[380] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 

bols  for  each  day  of  the  week,  and  for  the  phases  of 
moon,  sun,  and  planets.  A  record  in  his  journal 
reads : 

June  16,  1806.  Fair  and  a  fine  clear  sky.  The  pre 
dicted  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  began  at  10.05,  a  ^ew 
minutes  later  than  calculated.  Thermometer  went 
down  ten  degrees,  a  mighty  gloom  so  that  it  was 
possible  to  see  an  object  only  at  a  small  distance. 
Several  stars  appeared  and  pigeons  flew  homeward 
in  a  flock,  chickens  came  home  to  roost. 

This  was  the  eclipse  forecasted  by  Paine's  father 
seventy-five  years  before  to  within  a  "few  min 
utes"  of  exactness. 

Paine  was  scientific  where  Leonard  was  senti 
mental.  One  of  the  keenest  interests  of  his  sun 
set  days  was  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences  of  which  he  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Cobb,  were  among  the  founders  in  1780.  His 
life  naturally  led  up  to  this  institution;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  management  for  thirty- 
four  years.  Before  this  society  he  presented  his 
plan  for  making  an  inexpensive  map  of  Massa 
chusetts.  He  suggested  that  beacon  fires  be  built 
on  certain  hills  at  intervals  through  the  State  and 
thus  maps  could  be  made  with  small  expense  by 
triangulation. 

Making  water-wheels  and  mending  clocks  were 
congenial  occupations  to  him,  and,  as  we  have 

[381 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


already  seen,  he  was  interested  in  the  manufacture 
of  gunpowder.  He  surveyed  not  only  highways, 
but  when  he  first  went  as  Judge  to  sit  in  Barn- 
stable  County,  gave  much  attention  to  the  survey 
for  the  Cape  Cod  canal  proposed  in  1790.  He 
was  engaged  in  building  the  jail  and  court-house 
in  Taunton,  as  well  as  his  own  home  on  Taunton 
Green.1 

An  observant  farmer  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he 
writes  of  April,  "This  month  in  general  has  been 
fair  growing  weather,  attended  with  fruitful  show- 

1  In  a  letter,  written  in  1792  to  Theophilus  Parsons  at  New- 
buryport,  Paine  says:  "The  present  bogs  and  vapours  of  Ire 
land,  it  seems,  once  were  the  meandering  brook  and  serene 
sky  of  Calypso's  Isle,  and  the  heterogeneous  inhabitants  may 
have  descended  from  the  well-governed  Island  of  Atlantis:  nay, 
what  is  more,  the  people  who  now  have  to  send  to  the  wil 
derness  of  America,  the  then  (we  vainly  think)  unknown  world, 
for  artisans,  to  build  a  bridge  for  them  which  would  make  no 
considerable  figure  on  the  monuments,  and  to  erect  a  steeple 
of  common  size  in  our  country  villages,  were  the  inventors  of 
the  most  intricate  games  and  gave  rise  to  the  most  sublime 
sciences,  —  discoveries  of  this  kind  exceedingly  enlarge  the 
human  mind  and  push  us  on  more  rapidly  to  discover  mysteries 
that  have  long  been  buried  in  the  oblivion  of  the  ages.  Doth  it 
not  tend  to  prepare  our  minds  for  that  shock  we  might  receive 
on  being  told  that  it  was  now  fully  discovered  that  the  place 
of  Paradise  —  the  primaeval  Garden  of  Eden  so  much  and  so 
vainly  sought  for  by  the  learned  heretofore,  was  on  the  Ohio 
near  the  junction  of  the  river  Muskingum,  that  the  huge  mounds 
of  which  so  many  conjectures  have  been  made  was  the  haunt  of 
Adam  and  his  family,  that  the  savages  are  the  flaming  sword 
before  the  settlement  of  that  country." 

[382] 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


ers  and  warm  sunshine,  so  that  in  the  latter  end 
of  the  month,  trees  have  blossomed  forth  and 
grass  grown  finely."  After  his  removal  to  Boston 
we  find  the  old  sea-captain,  Scott  (who  married 
the  widow  of  John  Hancock,  to  the  mortifica 
tion  of  her  friends)  giving  him  fruit  trees  brought 
from  England  —  St.  Germain  pears,  May  Duke 
cherries,  royal  russets,  golden  pippins,  green  gage 
and  Draper  plums,  St.  Michael  and  Bergamot 
pear  and  peach  trees.  Within  the  walls  of  his 
Boston  estate  were  raised  many  bushels  of  grapes 
to  tempt  predatory  boys. 
The  lot  of  old  age  is  to  bury  one's  friends. 

As  life  runs  on  the  road  grows  strange 
With  faces  new;  and  near  the  end 
The  milestones  into  headstones  change, 
'Neath  every  one  a  friend. 

His  journal  records  that  he  acted  as  pall-bearer 
to  many  of  his  associates,  friends  and  neighbors. 
His  family  passed  away  one  by  one  before  him. 
Eunice  Paine  died  in  February,  1803,  aged  69; 
Abigail  Greenleaf,  in  December,  1808,  at  83  years 
of  age;  his  grandson  and  granddaughter,  March 
Sand  12, 1802;  his  son,  Robert,  July  29,  1798;  his 
son,  Charles,  February,  1810;  his  son,  Robert 
(christened  Thomas),  November  12,  1812. 

At  this  period  of  his  life  it  is  well  to  review 
Paine's  religious  beliefs.  We  have  seen  how  he 
joined  the  church  in  school-days;  how  in  early 

[383 1 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


manhood  he  examined  the  evidences  of  Christian 
ity,  and  exercised  his  personal  judgment  trying 
to  reconcile  faith  and  reason.  In  1760,  he  began 
to  listen  to  the  liberal  views  of  Jonathan  Mayhew, 
minister  of  the  West  Church  in  Boston,  who  had  a 
strong  influence  in  leading  him  to  follow  the  star 
of  soul  liberty.1  In  the  trying  of  ministers,  Paine 
was  always  critical.  In  1768,  he  was  one  of  the 
committee  to  ask  Mr.  Eliot,  of  Cambridge,  to 
preach  in  Taunton.  He  went  to  Concord  to  se 
cure  William  Emerson  for  the  First  Church  in 
Boston  in  1799.  He  was  a  lifelong  attendant  at 
church,  sometimes  visiting  the  Quaker  meetings 
at  Swansea,  and  while  at  Congress  he  writes  of 
attending  the  Christmas  services  of  the  Moid- 
vian  Church  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.  A 
touch  of  odium  theologicum  was  upon  him.  He 
had  a  controversy  with  Pastor  Barnum  as  to  the 
baptism  of  his  children  born  in  Taunton.  In 
April,  1779,  he  presented  for  baptism  all  his 
children  at  once  to  Rev.  Mr.  Turner,  of  Precinct 
Meeting-House. 

When  Paine  returned  to  Boston  he  took  pew 
eleven  in  the  Old  Brick  Church,  now  the  First 
Church,  on  May  6,  1780.  On  March  2,  1783,  he 

1  Mayhew  had  an  aversion  to  oratory,  which  was  increased 
by  his  antipathy  to  Whitefield  and  the  Methodists,  and  led  him 
to  beseech  God  that  he  might  never  be  an  orator — a  prayer 
which  his  enemies  remarked  had  been  fully  granted. 


[384] 

L    °     ^   J 


A  Family  of  Bostonians 


attended  the  Old  South,  then  restored  after  its 
wanton  desecration  by  British  soldiers.  Paine 
became  a  typical  Boston  Unitarian;  listening  with 
pleasure,  in  age,  to  Channing  or  William  Em 
erson;  almost  his  last  appearance  in  public  was  at 
the  installation  of  Edward  Everett  as  pastor  of 
the  fashionable  Brattle  Street  Church  in  Feb 
ruary,  1814. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 
An  Aged  Exile  in  London 

Youth  shall  grow  strong  and  great  and  free, 

But  age  must  still  decay, 
To-morrow  for  the  States  —  for  me 

England  and  yesterday. 

STEVENSON. 

LEONARD,  isolated  at  Bermuda,  saw  the 
American  Confederation  mounting"  strong 
and  great  and  free."  Like  his  sovereign,  he 
gloried  in  the  name  of  Briton,  and  had  come  to 
think  of  home  as  under  the  English  flag;  yet  when 
he  had  reached  that  age  which  musters  a  man  out 
of  active  service,  he  gave  a  longing  look  toward 
Massachusetts  before  turning  back  to  "England 
and  yesterday."  His  children,  now  thoroughly 
British,  leaned  strongly  toward  London.  Leonard's 
father  had  bequeathed  his  estate  to  his  son  on 
condition  that  he  should  return  to  America  as  a 
citizen  in  good  standing.  But  Daniel  knew  that 
he  could  not  be  an  active  part  of  the  new  nation, 
even  if  permitted  to  dwell  unmolested.  After  the 
Revolution,  opinion  in  the  "States  "was  divided 
in  regard  to  the  Tories.  Some  felt  that  they  were 
unjustly  treated;  that  it  was  natural  for  them  to 
adhere  to  the  King;  that  the  war  being  over,  it 
[386] 


An  Aged  Exile  in  London 

was  not  the  part  of  a  Christian  nation  to  hold 
hatred  against  them.  They  were  still  Americans 
of  respectability,  and  the  Patriots,  now  that  free 
dom  was  won,  should  let  bygones  be  bygones  and 
restore  them  to  their  former  estates.  Others  held 
them  as  traitors,  worse  than  the  Indians,  whom 
they  had  set  against  the  colonists;  thought  they 
were  most  mercifully  dealt  with  if  permitted  to 
go  unhung;  and  that  oblivion  was  a  kindness  to 
them.  The  thought  of  restoring  their  forfeited 
estates,  or  permitting  them  a  share  in  the  govern 
ment  which  they  had  done  their  best  to  strangle 
in  its  cradle,  was  preposterous.  So  the  glamour 
of  the  English  throne  still  holds  its  sway  with 
Leonard. 

Arrived  in  London,  the  Judge  made  his  home 
with  his  maiden  daughter,  Harriet,  at  53  Judd 
Street,  Brunswick  Square.  His  affairs  centred  at 
the  Temple,  where,  full  of  wise  saws  and  mod 
ern  instances,  he  sat  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
tables  at  Commons,  his  fair  round  belly  with 
good  capon  lined.  His  office  was  22  Bellyard, 
Temple  Bar.  At  this  time,  a  young  man  was 
studying  at  the  Temple  by  the  name  of  Charles 
Lamb ;  if  you  would  know  the  appearance  of  this 
great  seething  vortex  of  humanity  into  which 
Leonard  came,  a  solitary  drop,  you  will  find  it 
by  the  perusal  of  Elia's  pages,  in  which  some 
colonial  squire  will  fill  the  measure  of  the  Ber- 
[387] 


Two  Mcu  of  Taunton 


muda  judge.  He  had  leisure  and  taste  to  appre 
ciate  the  genius  of  the  early  nineteenth  century — 
Tom  Moore,  Coleridge,  and  Lord  Byron  writing 
verses;  Flaxman  making  his  celebrated  statuettes; 
Turner  dipping  his  brush  in  sunset  colors;  Scott 
building  castles  of  romance;  Bewick  carving  his 
fine  wood  cuts ;  Cruikshank  making  comic  pictures ; 
Gilroy  caricaturing  the  Napoleonic  monster;  and 
Mrs.  Siddons,  winning  applause  upon  the  stage. 
Ballooning  was  a  new  experiment  of  which  every 
one  talked;  the  velocipede  was  a  novel  hobby  on 
which  men  of  fashion  were  ludicrously  striding 
through  the  street. 

One  still  midnight  in  January,  1820,  the  great 
bells  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  tolled  out  the  long- 
expected  death  of  his  Majesty,  George  III.  Two 
years  younger  than  the  King,  Leonard  had  served 
him  zealously  through  his  reign  of  sixty  years. 
The  monarch,  having  suffered  an  eclipse  of  reason, 
held  no  state  levees  which  Leonard  could  attend, 
but  he  witnessed  the  royal  ceremonies  at  the 
crowning  of  the  sybarite,  George  IV. 

By  the  strange  habit  of  age  his  mind  wan 
dered  back  through  the  kaleidoscopic  scenes  of 
life  to  the  care-free,  sunlit  days  of  his  boyhood 
home.  Whenever  he  sat  in  the  park,  or  tapped 
along  the  brick  sidewalks  with  his  cane,  or  visited 
his  grandson,  Doctor  Stewart,  —  already  giving 
promise  of  that  eminence  he  later  attained,  —  he 

[388] 


TEMPLE    BAR,   LONDON 


An  Aged  Exile  iii  London 

found  many  a  willing  ear  among  the  bare-kneed 
and  petticoated  children,  to  whom  he  rehearsed  the 
stories  of  the  black  slaves  "Robin"  and  "Caesar"; 
of  rides  through  the  pine  forests;  of  bears,  wild 
cats,  the  deer-park,  the  fox-hunts;  of  the  mus 
ters  of  the  training-field,  —  these  he  babbled  over 
to  the  joy  of  his  open-mouthed  audience. 

Of  Leonard's  family,  his  daughter  born  in 
Taunton  was  living  in  Antigua ;  Sally,  who  mar 
ried  Captain  Stewart,  had  a  son  named  Leonard 
who  became  a  distinguished  physician  in  London. 
Judge  Leonard's  son,  Charles,  who  had  been  at 
college  with  Paine's  poet  son,  was  a  source  of  even 
more  grief  to  his  father  than  was  Paine's  son  to 
him.  When  Ephraim  Leonard  died,  in  1786,  his 
son  Daniel  appointed  Laban  Wheaton,  of  Nor 
ton,  as  trustee  of  his  bank  stocks  and  property 
holdings  in  America,  and  also  as  guardian  of  the 
son,  Charles,  whom  he  sent  to  Harvard  from 
Bermuda  in  1790.  The  son  remained  in  America 
in  order  to  inherit  his  grandfather's  estate.  Never 
mentally  bright,  the  young  man  became  dissi 
pated,  and  was  one  of  the  rakes  of  Taunton  as  far 
as  his  allowance  would  permit.  He  was  noted  for 
his  pride,  assurance,  and  politeness  —  qualities 
very  naturally  inherited  from  his  father.  After 
participating  in  several  parties,  he  decided  to 
reciprocate  the  politeness  of  his  friends  by  giving 
a  grand  dinner.  He  made  costly  and  elaborate 
[389] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


arrangements  for  a  certain  day,  and  sent  invita 
tions  to  the  first  gentlemen  of  the  town.  The 
dinner  was  a  success;  guests  had  a  splendid  time; 
Leonard's  grand  feast  was  the  theme  of  comment 
and  praise  for  many  days.  But  in  the  course  of 
some  two  weeks  following,  each  individual  guest 
was  interviewed  by  Charles,  and  a  loan  of  five 
dollars  politely  requested  until  he  could  get  a  re 
mittance  which  was  every  day  expected.  After 
having  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  their  friend  so 
recently,  the  gentlemen  could  hardly  refuse  the 
small  loan  asked  for,  and  the  necessary  funds  were 
obtained  in  this  manner  to  liquidate  the  expenses 
of  his  feast.  He  became  such  an  annoyance  that, 
in  1816,  seven  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Taunton 
petitioned  to  his  guardian  to  have  him  confined 
in  the  county  jail.  A  piteous  correspondence  be 
tween  him,  his  father,  and  his  guardian  during 
his  incarceration  is  extant.  In  a  fit  of  delirium 
tremens  he  attempted  to  end  his  life  in  the  winter 
of  1816-17.  He  was  later  confined  in  the  McLean 
Asylum,  but  released  upon  improvement  and 
taken  in  charge  by  a  private  family.  After  his 
father  died,  he  went  about  the  streets  in  a  de 
mented  condition,  repeating —  "The  Chief  Justice 
of  Bermuda  is  dead."  In  May,  183 1,  he  was  found 
dead  by  the  roadside  as  the  result  of  a  debauch. 
In  considering  Leonard's  religious  experience, 
we  cannot  conceive  him  petrified  into  a  bigot.  No 
[  390  ] 


An  Aged  Exile  in  London 

record  appears  that  he,  like  Paine,  joined  the 
church  in  youthful  years,  but  we  rest  assured  that 
his  father,  "very  worshippefulle  Ephraim  Leon 
ard,"  took  the  boy  along  with  him  to  sit  in  the 
front  pew,  and  being  a  man  of  eminent  piety  and 
religion,  he  doubtless  often  had  the  minister  as 
guest.  That  worthy  would  not  allow  Daniel  to 
forget  the  first  precept  of  the  old  New  England 
Primer,  "In  Adam's  fall  we  sin-ned  all."  On  Sun 
day  the  boy  may  have  committed  to  memory 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Westminster 
catechism  or  have  read  Wiggleworth's  "Day  of 
Doom";  and  he  may  not  have  been  a  stranger  to 
the  warning  touch  of  the  hickory  stick  in  the  hands 
of  the  ti thing-man,  Elder  Hodges.  Daniel  Leon 
ard's  grandfather  had  been  one  of  the  chief  agents 
in  achieving  the  separation  of  Norton  from  Taun- 
ton  in  1711,  in  order  that  a  new  church  might  be 
built  for  the  accommodation  of  those  who  walked 
(carrying  their  shoes  in  their  hands  for  economy) 
ten  miles  to  Taunton  Meeting-House.  Ephraim 
Leonard  had  been  senior  deacon  in  the  church 
which  Daniel  attended  in  his  youth.  Daniel's 
aunt  married  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp,  of  Taunton.  He 
had  uncles  and  cousins  among  the  clergy;  in  one 
family  the  four  brothers  were  deacons.  He  occa 
sionally  came  to  Taunton  to  the  second  Meeting- 
House  (built  in  1727  and  used  until  1790,  situated 
where  the  present  Unitarian  Church  stands). 
[  391  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


But  his  thoughts  —  for  through  his  life  Beauty 
was  never  divorced  from  Truth  —  may  have  wan 
dered  from  the  hereafter  to  the  bright  face  of 
Anna  White  in  her  Sunday  poke-bonnet  and  dim 
ity  furbelows.  It  was  but  in  the  natural  course  of 
events  to  find  him  drifting  back  to  the  pomp  and 
ceremony  of  the  English  Church.  To  many  of  the 
positive,  bishop-hating  Pilgrim  descendants  such 
a  course  was  an  instance  of  the  melon  reverting  to 
the  gourd. 

Leonard  was  not  the  "Last  of  the  Loyalists," 
for  S.  S.  Blowers,  who  died  in  1842  in  New  Bruns 
wick,  held  that  distinction,  as  the  venerable 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  was  known  as  the 
"Last  of  the  Patriots."  Leonard  was  the  last  of 
the  Boston  barristers  and  probably  the  last  of  the 
Massachusetts  Tories  exiled  in  England.  His  will, 
dated  1821,  which  may  be  seen  at  the  Recorder's 
office  in  London  upon  payment  of  a  shilling,  gives 
fourteen  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  his 
son,  Charles,  and  the  remainder  of  his  property 
to  his  three  daughters.  His  executors  were  his 
grandson,  Leonard  Stewart,  and  A.  E.  Searle. 
The  will  requested  that  the  funeral  be  "  modest." 


LAST  SCENE  OF  ALL 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Passing  of  a  Patriot 

Stirred  up  with  high  hopes  of  living  to  be  brave  men  and  worthy  pa 
triots,  dear  to  God  and  famous  to  all  ages.  —  MILTON. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  contemplating 
his  own  portrait  in  closing  years,  wrote  be 
neath  it,  "A  life  of  sorrow  and  an  age  of 
storm."  Reviewing  the  long  series  of  life's  mis 
fortunes,  disappointments,  passions,  temptations, 
duties,  Paine  might  have  concurred  with  Adams 
in  these  sentiments.  He  passed  through  the  age 
of  storm  and  bore  his  full  share  of  life's  unhappi- 
ness.  The  loss  of  property  when  a  young  man  was 
a  blessing  in  disguise.  Makers  of  history  with  heart 
and  mind  filled  with  right  purpose  may  do  a  large 
business  on  small  financial  capital.  Though  he 
left  little  money  to  his  family,  he  was  a  notable 
example  of  diligence,  frugality,  honesty,  and  thrift. 
A  glowing  satisfaction  came  to  him  as  he  wrote 
to  his  friends,  "I  have  served  Massachusetts; 
no  one  can  say  that  I  have  eaten  the  govern 
ment  bread  in  idleness."  His  was  a  life  of  forth 
right  duty,  imbued  with  a  sense  of  freedom  which 
was  ingrained  in  his  character.  His  instincts  were 
grounded  on  right  and  justice.  Firm  but  not  fana- 
[  395  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


tic  in  his  beliefs,  he  bore  onward  the  torch  of 
liberty  lighted  by  his  Cape  Cod  forbears. 

Looking  back  to  the  dim  figures  of  the  past, 
when  he  reviewed  his  confreres  who  had  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  they  seemed  to 
have  reached  more  shining  pinnacles  of  popular 
favor  than  he;  —  Hancock,  President  of  the  Con 
gress,  was  Governor  several  terms,  as  was  also 
Sam  Adams;  Gerry  had  been  Governor  and  Vice- 
President,  while  his  lifelong  friend,  John  Adams, 
whom  he  spoke  of  as  a  "numbskull  and  blunder 
buss"  in  his  hobbledehoy  years,  had  become  Pre 
sident  of  the  United  States.  In  these  reveries, 
did  Leonard  reappear  upon  the  brain-screen,  and 
did  Paine  think  kindly  of  the  old  judge  in  Ber 
muda? 

Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  Paine's  services 
measured  with  those  of  his  greater  compatriots, 
it  is  sufficient  title  to  lasting  honor  that  he  had  a 
place  among  those  who  established  the  American 
nation,  endorsing  its  credit  and  stability  with  his 
life,  and  that  he  was  active  in  forming  under  it  a 
commonwealth  of  acknowledged  leadership. 

While  gardening  in  May,  1814,  he  caught  cold 
and  took  to  his  bed.  Next  day,  he  called  for  his 
will  to  add  a  codicil  distributing  his  meagre  es 
tate  in  several  items.  Two  days  later,  as  Boston 
was  welcoming  Commodore  Perry  back  from  Lake 
Erie,  Paine  passed  beyond  as  peacefully  as  the  sun 

[396] 


Passing  of  a  Patriot 


dies  in  the  western  sky  on  a  summer  evening.  As 
he  lay  sleeping  in  his  coffin,  John  Adams  came  to 
look  on  his  silent  face,  and  went  home  to  write: 

Alas!  the  Massachusetts  triumvirate  is  broken. 
Judge  Paine  is  no  more.  An  old  German,  Doctor 
Turner,  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  asked  me  the  age 
of  my  father.  When  I  told  him  as  well  as  I  knew, 
"Alas!  "  said  the  old  gentleman,  "your  father's  age 
is  so  near  my  own,  that,  when  one  dies  of  old  age,  the 
other  may  quake  for  fear."  If  death  were  terrible  to 
Gerry  or  to  me,  the  death  of  Paine  might  make  us 
quake  for  fear. 

His  body  was  borne  to  its  final  resting-place 
but  a  few  steps  from  his  birthplace  and  lies  in  a 
wall  tomb  in  the  Old  Granary  Bury  ing-Ground. 
The  Sunday  after  his  decease,  a  eulogy  of  Judge 
Paine  was  spoken  in  the  First  Church  from  the 
text:  "He  put  on  righteousness  and  it  clothed 
him;  his  judgment  was  as  a  robe  and  a  diadem." 

Thus  Paine  passed  from  his  earthly  labors ;  but 
his  life  did  not  end  at  the  marble  slab.  So  long 
as  Young  America  shall  continue  to  fire  cannon, 
beat  drums,  ring  bells,  blow  trumpets,  and  sing 
patriotic  songs,  the  night  before  the  Fourth,  so 
long  the  name  of  Paine  remains  secure  and  im 
mortal  in  the  minds  of  his  happy  and  grateful 
countrymen. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

Last  of  a  Loyalist 

I  feel  like  one  who  treads  alone  some  banquet  hall  deserted. 

MOORE. 

A  LETTER,  written  by  Daniel  Leonard  in 
his  eighty-seventh  year,  closes  with  a  fine 
depth  of  human  feeling,  giving  an  index 
'to  the  heart  of  our  aged  exile. 

It  is  so  late  in  the  day  with  me  that  I  shall  hardly 
think  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  again,  tho'  I  some 
times  think  of  doing  it  that  I  may  lie  by  the  side  of 
my  father.  I  rejoice  to  think  you  have  made  Charles 
so  comfortable. 

Yours  truly, 

DANIEL  LEONARD. 

The  ties  of  his  old  home  were  tugging  at  his  heart. 
Living  with  Harriet  in  one  of  the  myriad,  closely 
packed,  brick  houses  in  the  heart  of  London,  his 
chamber  window  opened  within  reach  of  a  neigh 
boring  roof.  In  the  summer  of  his  ninetieth  year, 
the  old  man  thought  he  saw,  during  the  watches 
of  a  night,  a  stealthy  figure  seeking  entrance  to 
his  room  through  the  open  casement.  The  next 
evening  he  placed  a  loaded  pistol  where  his  hand 
could  grasp  it,  and  slept  with  one  eye  open  for 

[  398] 


Last  of  a  Loyalist 


several  nights  without  further  alarm.  Then  one 
day  a  pistol-shot  aroused  the  family.  They  has 
tened  up-stairs,  burst  into  his  room,  and  found 
the  aged  occupant  groaning  on  the  floor,  while  a 
wisp  of  smoke  wreathed  from  the  pistol  on  the 
coverlid.  They  lifted  the  body;  bolstered  it  among 
the  pillows;  chafed  the  stiffening  limbs.  Was  it 
accident?  Was  he  drawing  the  pistol  charge?  Or 
was  it  felo  de  se  ?  The  answer  was  hidden  in  the 
stertorous  breathing,  in  the  blood  oozing  from  his 
vitals,  the  tear  that  rolled  down  the  withered 
cheek,  and  the  inarticulate  murmur  that  bubbled 
from  his  lips.  In  the  weariness  of  years  he  was 
crossing  the  silent  seas,  bound  home. 

He  *s  walk'd  the  way  of  nature; 
And  to  our  purposes  he  lives  no  more. 


A  CALENDAR  OF  LIVES 


A  CALENDAR  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 
R.  T.  PAINE 

1694.  Rev.  Thomas  Paine  born. 
1719.  Ordained  minister  at  Weymouth. 
1724.  Marries  Eunice  Treat. 
1731.  Robert  Treat  Paine  born,  March  14. 
1738.  Enters  Boston  Latin  School. 
1745.  Leaves  Latin  School  for  Harvard. 
1747.  Eunice  Paine  (mother  of  Robert)  dies  in 
Boston,  October  15. 

1749.  Robert  graduates  from  Harvard  College. 

1750.  Usher  at  Boston  Latin  School. 

1751.  Teaches  school  at  Lunenburg. 
1752-3-4.  Sea-captain;    makes    trips    to    Carolina, 

Europe,  and  Greenland. 
Quits  sea  November,  1754. 
1755.  Minister  at  Shirley,  Massachusetts. 

September  I  to  December  31,  Chaplain 

on  Crown  Point  Expedition. 

I755~6~7-  Studies  law  with  Squire  Willard  at  Lan 
caster  and  Judge  Pratt  in  Boston. 

1757.  Admitted  to  the  Boston  Bar,  May. 
Father  dies,  insolvent,  at  Weymouth,  May. 

1758.  Tries  the  law  in  Boston  and  Falmouth 

(now  Portland). 
First   mention   in   his   diary  of   visiting 

Taunton. 

1761.  Takes  up  residence  in  Taunton. 
1760-80.  Practises  law  in  southern  Massachusetts. 

[  403  ] 


Two  Men  of  Taunton 


1768.  Sent  as   delegate  to  Bernard's  Conven 

tion,  Faneuil  Hall,  with  James  Williams. 
Moderator  at  Town  Meeting,  Taunton. 

1769.  Surveyor  of  Highways,  Taunton. 

1770.  Marries  in   Attleboro,  March   15,  Sally 

Cobb,  born  1744. 

Son  Robert  born,  May  14. 

Boston  Massacre  Trial,  October  and  No 
vember. 

1771.  Builds  a  home  northeast  side  of  Taunton 

Green. 

1773-4-5-7.  Elected   to  General   Court    of   Mass 
achusetts. 

1774-5-6.  Delegate  to  Continental  Congress,  Phila 
delphia. 

1776.  Declines  appointment  to  Supreme  Bench 

of  Massachusetts. 
Signs  Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4. 

1777.  Speaker  pro  tern  of  Massachusetts  Pro 

vincial  Assembly. 

Elected  Attorney-General  of  Massachu 
setts,  August. 

1778.  Family  inoculated  for  smallpox  by  Dr. 

Cobb. 

1779.  Children  baptized  by  Rev.  Mr.  Turner. 
Thomas  Cobb,  Paine's  wife's  father,  dies 
Member  of  Constitutional  Convention. 
Member  of  Council. 

1780.  Declines  appointment  as  Judge. 
Assists  at  framing   Massachusetts  Con 
stitution. 

[  4°4  ] 


A  Calendar  of  Lives 


Moves  to  Boston,  corner  of  Milk  and 
Federal  Streets,  in  April. 

A  Founder  of  the  American  Academy  of 

Arts  and  Sciences. 

1790.  Accepts  appointment  to  Supreme  Bench. 
1804.  Resigns  judgeship. 

LL.D.  Harvard. 

Elected  to  Governor's  Council. 
1811.  Son  Robert  dies. 

Grandchild  dies  the  same  day. 
1814.  Robert  Treat  Paine  dies,  Boston,  May  14. 
1816.  His  widow  dies,  Boston,  June  6. 


A  CALENDAR  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 
DANIEL  LEONARD 

1706.  Ephraim  Leonard  born  in  Norton. 

1739.  Ephraim    Leonard    and   Judith    Perkins 

married. 

1740.  Daniel  Leonard  born,  Norton,  May  30. 
Mother  dies  September  4. 

1750-56.  Daniel  studies  with  Rev.  Mr.  White. 
1756-60.  At  Harvard  College. 
1760-5.  Studies  law. 

1763.  Selectman  of  Norton. 

1766.  Admitted  to  the  Bar. 
Honorary  degree  at  Yale. 

1767.  Marries  April  2,  Anna  White,  born  1741. 

1768.  Daughter  Anna  born,  April  4. 
Anna  White  Leonard  dies,  April  4. 

1769.  Daniel  Leonard  elected   King's  Attorney 

in  place  of  Colonel  White,  deceased. 
1769-70-1-3-4.  Elected  to  General  Court. 

1770.  Marries,    March    4,    at    Boston,    Sarah 

Hammock,  born  1745. 

1774.  Signs  address  to  Hutchinson,  May  30. 
Appointed    Mandamus    Councillor,    Au 
gust  16. 

Driven  from  Taunton  by  mob,  August  21. 
1774-5.  Writes  "Massachusettensis  Papers." 

1775.  Solicitor  of  Customs  for  Port  of  Boston. 

1776.  Leaves  for  Halifax  with  family,  March  17. 
Arrives  in  London,  August  12. 


A  Calendar  of  Lives 


1778.  Proscribed    by    Massachusetts    Govern 

ment  under  penalty  of  death,  May. 
Family  joins  him  in  London,  August. 

1779.  Admitted  to  Temple  Bar  as  barrister. 
Property  confiscated. 

1781.  Chief  Justice  of  Bermuda. 

1786.  Ephraim  Leonard  dies  leaving    property 

to  Daniel's  son. 
1799  and  1808.  Daniel  visits  America. 

1806.  Second   wife  dies   on   the  way  to  Provi 
dence. 
1815  (about).  Returns  to  London,  England. 

1828.  Writes  Will. 

1829.  Dies  by  his  own  hand,  June  29,  London. 
1831.  Son  found  dead  in  the  road,  Norton. 
1849.  Harriet,  his  daughter,  dies,  aged  75. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    •    S    •   A 


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